All for One
by nobodD
Summary: [Sequel to "The Center of µ's"] Picking up from the last story, Honoka returns in another crack-filled adventure. A-Rise has taken interest in the charismatic µ's leader. Arisa and Yukiho have a few secrets too. And did somebody say marriage? Join Honoka as she tries to deal with the crazy antics of her closest admirers. HonokaxHarem. (Rating may change depending on how things go.)
1. A Cry for Help

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

A calm, yet chilly winter night. People moved quickly through the streets. Cars and taxis travel quickly yet safely to hurry home. Many of the shops that lined this busy street have already closed. Only a handful remained open, as they transitioned to their late night activities.

Though this street was filled with many different business, there were a number of people that got to live here as well. A few buildings were specially designed. The ground floor was the public part, where whatever kind of business the owners had would run, while the floors above where for living space.

One of the lucky owners of these fancy buildings was standing by the window on the second floor, looking down on the streets. She watched the last few stores that only ran daytime hours close and their staffs disperse. A group of them were walking, then suddenly stopped in front of another store. The woman watching from above smiled. She knew exactly why they stopped. The store was known for playing music videos for trending songs and artists. Currently, the TV showing through the window was showing the same music channel that the TV in the woman's living room was showing. The song playing was one she knew quite well. In fact, five years ago, she was responsible for _Snow Halation_'s creation.

Kousaka Honoka. She is one of the three original members of an idol group called Muse. The group was founded five years ago to try and save their school from closing down by boosting the school's appeal. She, along with the other eight members, set out to be school idols. Of course, none of them could have anticipated some of the events to follow them.

The highlight of their group would be their victory in Love Live, a competition for school idol groups. Shortly after, they would halt their unit's activities, as three of their members were to graduate at the end of the year. They did not perform until all nine of their members graduated. Once they did, though, Muse would leave behind their school idol careers, and become professional idols. Just starting to break through into international popularity as school idols, their fans shot their professional careers forward. Two years since then landed them here, as one of the biggest names in Music in the world.

Most of their fans were aware of and supported the group's decision to not perform while their members weren't all out of school. But many have wondered just what kept the group together for those three years of absence. Being popular both as a group and as individuals, some might think a few members would have tried their hand at a solo career. During any type of interview, all nine members would say Muse had a strong bond connecting every member. No one knew the actual truth behind those words, though. They knew between the nine of them what kept Muse together through that down period. It was love, obviously.

Of course, this love was quite a bit unusual from most other's concept of love. Even in an all-female group, it still crossed people's minds that romance could blossom within the group. But no one would ever guess that in this group of nine, eight of the members would all fall in love with the same girl. Even further from expectations was that the one in question said yes to all eight confessions, and managed to hold together all eight relationships. Somehow, that mutual love is what brought all nine of them closer together than ever before. Of course, they had to keep this part a secret from the public. Romance, especially this kind, is dangerous for the media to get a hold of.

These confessions took place even before the oldest three members graduated. But because of that, Muse was able to stay together. As the oldest three graduated, they either continued with school, researched music and idols, or looked for places they could stay that would fit all of them. As the next three graduated, they did similar things, joining the oldest three in their work. Once the final three graduated and followed the others as well, and after half a year to let the others finish up with their studies, they were able to resume their idol activities.

"Honoka-chan," came a gentle voice. "Dinner is almost ready."

Honoka took one last look at the group below before she turned away from the window.

"Thanks, Hanayo-chan," Honoka said.

Koizumi Hanayo. One of the three youngest members of Muse. Easily one of the kindest and gentlest members of Muse. She used to be a very reserved girl, but being part of Muse had eventually gotten her over that. Though one of the things she was never shy about was her love for school idols. Of course now, she's redirected most of that passion to Honoka, as well as her idol career.

Hanayo walked up to Honoka's spot by the window. She grabbed hold of Honoka's arm that wasn't holding her hot cocoa mug. The look she gave told Honoka all she needed. Honoka gave Hanayo the sweet kiss she was asking for. Satisfied, Hanayo rested her head on Honoka's shoulder.

"Ah, Kayo-chin that's not fair," came a new voice, causing both of them to look up. "You were just supposed to call Honoka-chan for dinner nya."

Hoshizora Rin. Another of the three youngest members, and Hanayo's best friend. Easily the most energetic member of Muse. She shares a few of qualities with Honoka, like their unbreakable determination, cheerful attitudes, and thirst for fun and adventure. Uniquely to Rin is that she has this habit of acting like a cat on occasion. Ending most of her sentences in _nya_ is an easy way to notice. Almost only to Muse though is she incredibly reliable. Especially to Honoka, she acts like a loyal pet, and occasionally enjoys Honoka petting her like one.

Rin had quickly made her way to Honoka's other side. Carefully, as to not knock the mug out of Honoka's hand, Rin latched herself onto her other arm, resting her head on Honoka's shoulder as well. A soft sound, almost like purring, followed. Honoka took Rin's little hint, and managed a kiss onto the cat-girl as well. Together like this, they made their way to the dining room, or at least they tried to.

"Well, well. Look what we have here," someone said as she blocked their way to the hallway.

"Ah- Maki-chan/Maki-nya" Hanayo and Rin said in unison.

Nishikino Maki. The last of the youngest members. She is Muse's sole composer, and a gifted pianist and singer. She came from a wealthy family of doctors. But with some encouragement from Hanayo and Rin, and with joining Muse, she followed her heart and stuck with her music. Originally sporting a cool, indifferent attitude, Muse had changed that part of her personality, and for the better. Considering them now her closest friends, she was closer and more comfortable with Muse's members than she first thought she'd ever be. While she happily composed the music for Muse, her solo piano and singing skills were specially reserved for Honoka whenever the young composer got the chance.

"Hanayo, you were only supposed to call Honoka over," Maki said, folding her arms. "And Rin, you were only supposed to check on them."

"I know... but..." Hanayo said.

"I guess we couldn't really help ourselves," Rin said with a nervous smile.

"Clearly. And Honoka, you spoil them too much sometimes."

"Eheh... well to be fair, I spoil you all in some way all the time," Honoka said.

"True... but..."

"Now, now," Hanayo interrupted. She looked at Rin, and together they both let go of Honoka. "How about we even things out and move on?"

"Yeah," Rin agreed. "Dinner will get cold if they have to wait for us."

"Well... alright." Maki stepped up to Honoka and got the kiss she was waiting for. "You have to listen to the song I'm working on later though, okay?"

"Alright, I got it," Honoka agreed.

Satisfied with that, Maki turned back around, and together the four of them made their way to the dining room. It was quite busy once they reached the dining room. Along with the usual nine of them, there were a number of extra people here tonight. Some just to discuss a few things, and some staying longer to eat dinner with them.

"Ah, Honoka," a voice came. The four turned their attention as two familiar faces along with some of the guests moved their way.

"We'll go keep the other guests occupied," Maki said. Honoka nodded, and Maki and Rin walked away.

"I'll go see if they need help in the kitchen," Hanayo announced before excusing herself. With the three of them dispersing, Honoka turned her attention to two more members of Muse leading the guests.

One of the two was Sonoda Umi. She was one of Honoka's two childhood friends. That also made her one of the three founding members of Muse along with Honoka. She is responsible for writing the lyrics to Muse's songs. Outside of the songs, she was one of the main members responsible for organizing and running Muse and their careers. She alongside one other person handled most of the business aspects for Muse, but as Honoka was the center of the group and was always recognized by the others as its leader, they would go to her for the final decisions. As responsible and efficient as Umi can be though, romance was another thing entirely. However, Umi is content with any amount of quality time she can spend with Honoka, and Honoka's compliments and appreciate for her help pushes Umi forward.

The other of the two members approaching was Ayase Eli. She is one of the oldest three members of Muse. Eli is Muse's physical trainer and choreographer. She is also the other half of Muse's business and strategic brains alongside Umi. During their high school years, Eli was one of the most popular students due to her kind and caring personality as well as her beauty. That popularity seemed to have followed through, as she is a big part of Muse's publicity. Like Umi, she's very responsible and level-headed. She almost acts like a second-in-command for Honoka, guiding her through decisions and helping wherever she can. But unlike the blue-haired archer, Eli was a little more versed in romance. Though, she still lets her guard down when it comes to Honoka. Not that she minds much as long as she's honest with the one she loves.

"Honoka. Most of the concert will be as we planned. But they need to ask a few last things," Umi announced.

"That's right," the taller of the three men said. "There is a new sound system installed just for this event. So we need you to come a few days before to test everything out."

"Alright," Honoka responded. "Would we be able to use the week before the concert for rehersal?"

"As long as you pay a little extra, that should be fine."

Honoka eyed Eli. "We can afford the price their asking," Eli informed.

"Alright," Honoka turned back to the business men. "We'll do it then."

"Great. Also, the day before, bring all outfits and accessories in. They'll be stored safely in the dressing room and it'll save time on the performance date."

"Sounds good. Thank you very much."

"No, no. Thank you all for using our venue for this event."

Umi finished making a note about the dates, and she and Eli showed the men back to the front. Once they were gone from the dining room, Honoka let out a sigh. Just as she did, she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders. However, Honoka just relaxed, especially as the hands started massaging her.

"Feeling a bit stressed?" the voice asked behind her.

That voice belongs to Toujou Nozomi. She is Eli's best friend, and the oldest member of the group. She acts like it a lot as well, as she plays a kind of motherly role for the younger members a lot of the time. She has always looked out for the others, even before she joined Muse, and always looks to help them out with any trouble they might have. As she was lived in her own apartment during high school, Nozomi had handled the housing situation for Muse as they were just graduating. She used to volunteer at a shrine nearby to their school and her apartment often, but has had less time after becoming a professional idol along with the rest of Muse. She still pays visits to the shrine on occasion. Of course, she brings along Honoka every time. Shrine visits should be with loved ones, she believes.

"Ah... not anymore," Honoka said happily.

"That's good." Nozomi finished up her quick massage and hugged Honoka from behind. "You should always be happy, after all."

"Eheh, thanks Nozomi-chan."

"Ah, Honoka-chan, Nozomi-chan," someone called out as she stepped out of the kitchen.

It was Minami Kotori. Honoka's other childhood friend, and the last of the three founding members of Muse. Kotori is one of Muse's two designers. She is one of the kindest members alongside Hanayo. When Honoka, Kotori, and Umi graduated, Kotori joined Muse's other designer in her idol research, and they came up with many costume ideas. She also had a hand in planning a few photo shoots for Muse in preparation for their concert. While she has a bit more of a passive voice in Muse, she's pretty different when she's with Honoka. According to Honoka, Kotori was one of the hardest of the eight to predict when spending alone time with her. Yet it was fun all the same.

"Dinner's about to be served. You two should take a seat," she told them.

"Ah, that smells good," Nozomi said as the scent from the bowl Kotori was carrying reached their noses.

"But of course. It's my recipe after all," came a voice behind Kotori.

Walking to Kotori's side with a tray of food was Yazawa Nico. She was the same age as Nozomi and Eli, and was the ninth and final member of Muse. She's the other designer for Muse alongside Kotori, as well as their main chef. Though she was shorter than everyone else in their school years, she's grown quite a bit, almost catching up to the groups average height. Though conscious of her size, she was still a very proud individual. She's also a very popular face to Muse, with her signature _Nico Nico Nii~ _catchphrase. The closer she grew to Muse, the less she _competed_ with them to try and look like best member. Of course, now she competes with them for Honoka's attention.

"That's true," Nozomi said. "Nico-chi's cooking is outstanding."

"Yeah. And everything looks great!" Honoka said.

"It'll taste even better," Nico said proudly. "Now sit down, so we can get to eating."

The four of them walked to the dining table. Honoka and Nozomi took their seats while Nico and Kotori placed the dishes they were carrying onto the table, then went back into the kitchen for the last two dishes. Honoka sat at what could be considered the head of the table, while Nozomi took one of the side seats.

"Thanks again for letting us stay to eat, Onee-chan," Yukiho, Honoka's younger sister, said as she walked up to Honoka's seat.

"Yes, thank you very much," Arisa said beside Yukihio. Arisa is Eli's younger sister, and Yukiho's girlfriend.

"Of course. The more the merrier," Honoka said with a smile.

"Everything looks great," Yukiho said as she looked at the spread of food.

"Yeah. Nico-chan made a lot of specialties today. Why don't you sit here?"

"Is it alright?" Arisa asked.

"Of course," Eli said. She and Umi had returned a few moments ago, and Eli took the small time that Arisa and Yukiho were talking to Honoka to sneak up behind them.

"Onee-chan!" Arisa said, hugging Eli.

"Are you sure?" Yukiho asked.

Eli nodded. "Guests are allowed to choose their seats first. Muse's rule."

"Thanks!" Arisa and Yukiho said in unison.

They sat down in the two closest seats to Honoka's right. Eli and Umi found seats a little further down the table. Of course, they would have liked to sit closer, but there were three other guests that were also dining with them tonight, and they took the three seats to Honoka's left. In all, there was fourteen people at the table. They were all also quite familiar with each other, as the last three guests were none other than A-Rise.

A-Rise was a school idol group for another high school. The members are Toudou Erena, Yuuki Anju, and their center Kira Tsubasa. A-Rise and Muse competed against each other in two Love Live competitions. A-Rise had won the first competition Muse took part in. But the following Love Live, Muse would beat A-Rise in the regional final, and eventually move on to win the entire thing.

Despite being competing school idol groups, the members of each were quite friendly with each other, and very respectful. This remains true even to this day, though without the school idol competitions. The two groups interacted quite often, occasionally with tips or supportive words to each other. Though, it was mostly just for them to all hang out.

"Hey, Honoka?" Tsubasa asked. She was in the seat directly to Honoka's left. "About the thing we're here to discuss."

"Ah, can it wait a little longer? We should get dinner started first. Nico-chan?" She saw Nico nod from her end of the table. She looked at everyone and said, "Alright, let's eat!"

Everyone took turns getting food from the dishes in the middle of the table and putting it on their plates. Because of how many there were, Nico had prepared two of each dish so both ends of the table could have some. As everyone finished grabbing what they wanted and started eating, all the conversations began.

"Sorry about that," Honoka said to Tsubasa, taking a bite of food.

"No problem," Tsubasa replied. Her eyes widened as she tasted her food. "This is amazing."

"Isn't it? Now, you said you wanted to help us out with the Christmas concert, right?"

"Yeah. Actually, we were thinking helping Muse out more than just for the concert."

Honoka tilted her head. "Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Well, we've talked recently, and the three of us are interested in working with Muse. Or working for you, whichever could work out."

"But... why? I mean, it's not like Muse and A-Rise compete against each other anymore. And you're such a talented group."

"Well... I can't tell you all the details... at least not yet, or here. But A-Rise isn't going to be active for a while. And we don't exactly want to be sitting around the entire time."

"So you want to work here while A-Rise isn't performing?" Honoka asked.

Tsubasa nodded. "It would be really nice if we could."

"I don't know... I mean. Even though Muse is self-ran by all of us, we aren't in need of extra workers or anything..."

"But," Yukiho joined the conversation, "it couldn't hurt to have extra help anyway, right?"

"I guess that's true, too," Honoka agreed.

"Tsubasa," Anju said beside her. "Why don't you tell her the real reason?"

Tsubasa turned to her left. "Are you sure?"

"Well, I think it would be better. There's no reason to lie to them anyway."

Tsubasa considered for a few seconds. "Honoka, is there somewhere we can discuss this in private?"

"We can go to the third floor. It should be safe enough, even if we don't go into the rooms."

"If you two are going, let me go too," Yukiho said. "I actually have something I need to ask you privately as well, Onee-chan."

"A-alright. Let's go then?"

The three of them stood up, which did not go unnoticed by the rest of the table.

"Where are you three going?" Umi asked.

"There's something that needs to be discussed privately," Honoka told them. "Do you all mind if we step away for a few minutes?"

"If it's that personal, then there's no reason for us to stop you," Nozomi said, with everyone nodded their agreement.

"Thank you. If you'll excuse us."

The three of them made their way upstairs to where the bedrooms where. Deciding it would be better in the end to be in a room, Honoka led them to her room. Once they were inside, and Honoka closed the door behind her, Tsubasa let out a big sigh.

"Tsubasa? Are you okay?" Honoka asked.

"Y-yeah... Sorry. It's pretty hard for me to talk about this." Tsubasa took a deep breath. "You see... the truth is A-Rise isn't just inactive, but we're jobless. We haven't been selling well the last couple of months. Eventually it was bad enough that our company dropped us."

"W-what? No way..."

"It's true... it's been like this for a few weeks now."

"Wow... I'm sorry..."

Tsubasa shook her head. "It's not your fault or anything. But that's why we would really like it if we could work with you or for you. We don't really have anywhere else to turn to. We don't mind not performing anymore, but we really need a job."

"I see..." Honoka felt pretty bad for A-Rise. She came to a decision. "Well, I can't promise much right away, but I'll talk to the others about it. I'm sure we can work something out for you three."

Tsubasa perked up. "R-really?"

"Yeah. It may take a little time to work things out though."

Tsubasa ran up to Honoka and hugged her tightly. "Thank you so much!"

The hug lasted a few seconds longer. Eventually, Tsubasa regained her normal composure. She went ahead back down to dinner so that the Kousaka sisters could talk privately now.

"Actually, what I have to ask is similar to Tsubasa," Yukiho said.

Honoka raised an eyebrow. "You want to work for us too?"

"Yes. Arisa too. It's not as easy as it used to be to find jobs, you see..."

"Say no more." Honoka placed a hand on Yukiho's head. "I'll see what I can do for you two as well then."

"Heh, thanks Onee-chan."

Though she didn't run and nearly cause Honoka to fall over, Yukiho still gave her sister a tight hug. As they were about to leave the room, Honoka's phone started ringing. As she checked the address, it turned out to be their mother. Yukiho said she'll go on ahead. As Yukiho made her way out of the room, Honoka answered her phone.

"Hello?"

_"Honoka-chan!"_

"Hi Mom! How have you guys been?"

_"Aside from missing our daughters, we've been fine."_

"Mom..."

_"Hehe, don't worry about us, sweetie! How have you been?"_

"Great! Everyone is happy and Muse is continuing to make music."

_"I can see. We just bought your latest album. You girls have only gotten better every day."_

"Eheh, thanks mom."

_"So has everything been working out well? The others aren't fighting over you too much right?"_

"Nope! Everyone's been getting along really well."

_"That's good. Because I really need to talk with you about that."_

"Huh? What about it?"

_"Well sweetie, you know that regardless of the relationship, you can only legally marry one person."_

"...Oh... This again..."

_"I know it's not fun to talk about. But as your mother, I just want you to think of your future."_

"I know. But with how busy Muse is, I've had no time to really think about that."

_"That's fine. But as long as you give it some thought. You need to have plans ready for when this is all over."_

"Thanks Mom. I'll give it some thought."

_"Alright. Well I should get going. Visit soon, please."_

"I think I have time after our concert and before New Years."

_"See you then. I love you Sweetie."_

"Love you too, Mom."

Honoka heard the call end. She put her phone away and sighed. She knew her mom would remind her about it again at some point. But right now she didn't want to upset anyone. Though that's what got her into these eight relationships in the first place. Deciding she'll give it some thought before bed, she left her room and went back downstairs.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Looks like we're doing this again, huh? I did promise those of you who read **_**The Center of µ's**_** a sequel some time after season 2 of the anime ended. Well, here's the start to a hopefully very fun, very fluffy, and very crazy sequel story. The final chapter of the last story skipped five years ahead. This first chapter picks up right there, and does a lot of reintroduction to explain some of the things that happened in that time gap. The end of the next chapter will trigger the start of everything fun and silly, hopefully X3**

**If you happen to be wondering why I suddenly decided to start this up. Well, I've actually had a lot of ideas for this beginning the last few days. And after talking with my beta, I got the ideas for this story down. I'm not sure how many people have been waiting for this, but I got excited to start the sequel after that. So, here it is. XP**

**Also, don't worry, I haven't abandoned my other story either. I'll be writing chapters for both, though no planned order for the updates. As always, I'll update as quickly as I can when a chapter is done. Bear with me, please.**

**I hope you'll look forward to more~**


	2. Declaration of War

**Nelura: Your A-Rise question will be answered this chapter :3 And I do have most of the marriage part planned out.**

**Nexus Infinity: Unfortunately I can't really reveal that without it giving away some things in later chapters. If you were around for the poll, I kept the votes private so there can be some surprises. I hope that's okay.**

**Satsuki Rin: There will be a few serious points, but otherwise I feel the overall mood of the story should be fun. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

They next day was awoken to the sound of pleasant humming and bright light. Because of this, she could tell it was Maki's turn to wake her up this morning. She sat up and stretched in bed. She found Maki by the window, fixing the curtain and then moving to take care of the nearby plant.

"Good morning, Maki-chan," Honoka managed to say through a yawn.

"Ah, good morning, Honoka." Maki moved to Honoka's bed to give her a morning kiss.

"That's your song you showed me last night, right?"

"Yes. I'm still trying to come up with an ending."

"Well, I'm sure you'll come up with something amazing like you always do."

"Heh... thanks. Nico started breakfast already, and should be done soon."

"Alright. Can you let the others know we'll be eating together this morning? I need to talk to you all about something."

"Okay. I'll wake the others up then.

"Thank you, Maki-chan."

Honoka gave her one more kiss before she got out of bed. She changed into the clothes Maki laid out for her, then went to the restroom to wash up. After, she went downstairs and to the kitchen. She spotted Nico in the middle of cooking breakfast. Deciding to surprise her, Honoka walked up to the unsuspecting woman and hugged her from behind.

"Good morning, Nico-chan."

"Wha- Honoka? You surprised me."

"Hehe, that was the plan." She gave Nico a kiss.

"You're just in time, breakfast is ready."

"Great. We'll be all eating together today because I have to talk to you all about something."

Nico let out a dramatic sigh. "I guess I can share you a bit more this morning."

"Thanks," Honoka giggled, then gave Nico another kiss.

"Can you help set up the table?"

"Sure."

Honoka moved over to the cabinets above and brought down one of the sets of dishes they had. Carefully, she brought them to the table and started setting up while Nico brought out the food. As they were finishing, the rest of Muse started coming down and took their seats at the table. Once everyone was seated they started eating.

"So, you wanted to talk to us about something, Honoka-chan? Kotori asked.

Honoka nodded as she swallowed the food in her mouth. "Yeah. I's about why are guests came over yesterday."

"And why they talked to you privately about it?" Eli asked.

"Yeah. It turns out... A-Rise were fired."

"Fired?" Hanayo asked in disbelief. "You can't mean..."

"Yeah, it is that Hanayo-chan. Anyway, Tsubasa asked if it would be alright if we gave them jobs."

"Jobs?" Nico asked. "But we have everything we need taken care of."

"I know... But still. Maybe we can get them to double up on some of the tasks or something."

"Well, that might be nice," Maki said. "I mean, it'll take some of the stress off us. Especially you two," she said to Eli and Umi. "You two always seem to have work to do."

"It would be nice to be able to rest a little more often," Umi said.

Eli nodded her agreement. "But what about Yukiho? What did she talk to you about?"

"Well, apparently she and Arisa are looking for work as well," Honoka answered.

"And they asked to work here as well?" Hanayo asked.

"Yup." Honoka addressed the whole table. "So?"

"If you're okay with it, then so am I," Umi said.

"So am I," Eli said. She turned to Umi. "We should figure out how much we can afford to pay them."

"As long as they help cook once in a while, I don't mind making extra food every night," Nico said.

"If I'm still the only composer, then I don't mind them being around," Maki said.

"I say go for it," Kotori said. "Maybe they can help come up with ideas for our outfits."

"I agree," Hanayo said. "One of them can keep us company downstairs at the desk."

"Yeah! And maybe help with the promotions and stuff," Rin said.

Honoka wanted to smile as everyone gave their responses, but her attention was caught by one member who had been silent the entire time.

"Nozomi-chan?"

Nozomi didn't seem to notice. She continued looking at her plate with a distant stare.

"Nozomi-chan?" Honoka called out again.

"Ah-" she shook her head, snapping out of her daydream. "Sorry about that. I think it will be great to have them around."

"Great!" Honoka smiled. "I'll talk with them today then and let them know. Are they good to start tomorrow?" she asked Umi and Eli.

"I think so. It should only take us the rest of today to get things together," Eli said.

"Alright." Honoka glanced at the clock on the wall. "Ah, the time! Umi-chan we have to go."

"Ah, right."

Honoka and Umi got up from their seats and brought their dishes back into the kitchen. After saying goodbye to everyone, they grabbed their coats and left the house. The other's continued their breakfast, having conversations with each other. All except one, who was unusually quiet again.

"Nozomi?" Eli called to her oldest friend.

"Hmm?" Nozomi asked, though not looking from her plate.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Eli-chi you worry too much."

"Do I? The only time I've ever seen you like that is when something's troubling you."

Nozomi smiled. "Ahah, you got me."

"What's wrong?" Hanayo asked. "Maybe we can help."

"It's nothing we can anything about right now."

"What do you mean?" Nico asked.

"Well, this whole situation with A-Rise and the little sisters seems a little strange to me. Maybe it's just because it happened so suddenly."

"It is true that it's a bit out of the ordinary," Maki admitted. "Do you think there's a hidden reason behind it?"

Nozomi nodded. "There probably is. But until we can talk to them directly, we won't be able to find out."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see then," Kotori said.

"Yeah, no use worrying about it right now," Rin said. She got up from her seat to walk over to Nozomi and hug her. "You know Honoka-nya wouldn't want you to worry either."

"Heh, you're right, Rin. Thank you," Nozomi said, smiling.

Kotori got up from her seat now. "Well, I'll take care of the dishes today. You all should get started with your days."

"Ah, she's right," Eli said, looking at the clock now. "It's about time to open."

Everyone took one last bit of food before getting up from their seats and heading off in different directions to their jobs within Muse. Kotori picked up the dishes and started bringing them to the kitchen.

* * *

"Ah... that's finally done," Honoka said as they got back into the car.

"I didn't think they could have made a photo shoot complicated," Umi said. "You okay?"

"Yeah. That's my last thing for today, right?"

"Yes. We can head home now."

"Thank goodness."

Umi started driving. The ride was pretty silent so Honoka could relax a bit. The only sound was the music coming from the radio. After a few minutes, their peace was interrupted by Honoka's phone.

"Hello?"

_"Honoka?"_

"Ah, Tsubasa. Are you calling about yesterday?"

_"Yes. I don't mean to be annoying about this, I hope you understand."_

"It's okay. Umi-chan and Eli-chan said they can work things out for you three."

_"Really? That's great!"_

"Honoka," Umi said. "Can you ask them to come by again tonight so we can work it out with them?"

"Ah, alright. Tsubasa? Umi-chan is asking if you three can stop by tonight, so you can work out all the details."

_"I got it. We'll stop by after dinner."_

"Okay. See you then." She heard Tsubasa end the call.

"You should probably call Yukiho and Arisa and let them know as well," Umi suggested.

"Ah, you're right."

As Honoka dialed Yukiho's number on her phone, Umi started thinking about what jobs she'll be willing to share with the others.

* * *

Compared to yesterday, Nico prepared a nice and simple dinner tonight. Of course it was still delicious and well appreciated by the rest of Muse. As Hanayo and Nozomi were helping clean up the dishes, Yukiho and Arisa had arrived.

"Ah, hello again," Rin said as she answered the door.

"Good evening," Arisa and Yukiho both said. They were holding hands

"Ah, you're still together. That's so cute."

"You think most things are cute though," Arisa pointed out.

"Eheh, I guess that's true. Well, come on in. We just finished dinner."

"Pardon the intrusion."

They both removed their shoes and proceeded into the living room. They found Honoka, Umi, and Eli sitting on the couches, a few pieces of paper on the table.

"Ah, good evening, you two," Honoka said, looking up.

"Good evening," both replied.

Honoka got up from where she was to give them both a hug.

"You're just in time," Eli said. "I think we have everything ready for you two."

Yukiho and Arisa sat down on the couch by Eli and Umi. Honoka disappeared into the hallway.

"So, you won't be assigned to your own jobs, but you'll be helping out the others with existing jobs," Umi told them.

Eli nodded. "Right. What we were looking at is for one of you to help Hanayo and Rin downstairs. They work the desk, as well as work on promotional ideas. The other can help Nozomi. She mostly takes care of the house and she checks up on everyone and makes sure everything is okay. She also runs errands if everyone else is busy."

"She helps out around the house?" Arisa asked. When Eli nodded, she said, "I'll help Nozomi out, then. I want to be able to help everyone."

"I'll help downstairs then," Yukiho said. "Sounds kind of fun, coming up with posters and things like that."

Umi finished writing down the jobs. "Okay. Now as for the pay..."

As they discussed the hours and pay, the other Muse started to come in as well. All except Honoka, who went to answer the door. As expected, it was A-Rise. Honoka led them to the living room as Yukiho and Arisa's part of the jobs were being finalized.

"I think that takes care of everything," Umi said, looking at her notes. "Any questions?"

"Just one," Yukiho said. "Would it be a lot to ask if we stayed here as well?"

The whole room seemed to freeze in surprise, except for Honoka.

"Why do you ask?" she asked her younger sister.

"Well, I just think it would be easier for us, so we don't have to go back and forth everyday while you all stay here."

"Hmm... You do have a point." Honoka looked at the other Muse. "Any problem with that?"

"We would have to adjust the pay then," Umi pointed out.

"That should be fine if we'll be staying here," Arisa said with a smile.

"Would you like that as well?" Honoka asked the three A-Rise members.

"If it's alright with everyone," Anju said.

"I guess we can work something out," Eli said.

"Sorry for the extra work," Tsubasa apoligzed.

"Ah, sorry, I'll be right back," Honoka said. She showed her phone, which had an incoming call, before she hurried out of the room again.

"Well, how about we talk about your jobs then?" Umi suggested, motioning for Anju, Tsubasa, and Erena to sit on the couch.

"So, what we have left is either helping Nico and Kotori, Umi, or me with our jobs. Nico and Kotori are responsible for the costumes, as well as cooking. Umi handles organizing schedules and is somewhat Honoka's assistant. I handle organizing the events and our money."

"Well, I handled the cooking for us before," Anju said. "Though it'll be a new experience working on the costumes."

"Handling all the events and money sounds more like my job than Tsubasa's," Erena said.

"Agreed. I'll help Umi with schedules and Honoka then," Tsubasa said.

"Okay." Umi wrote a few more notes down. "We should probably discuss sleeping arrangements if you five will be staying here, too."

"How are things arranged right now?" Erena asked.

"Well right now, everyone has their own room, and there's one guest bedroom," Umi answered.

"So four of the rooms will have two people sharing them," Tsubasa finished.

Eli nodded. "Looks that way. So I was thinking-"

"Well, I'll share a room with Onee-chan. We are sisters after all," Yukiho said, earning her a few quick glares.

"That's true..." Kotori said, as calmly as she could.

"You and Arisa aren't going to share a room?" Umi asked, doing a better job at staying calm.

"Well, I've been missing my sister since she moved out," Yukiho said, smiling as innocently as possible.

"Yeah, same," Arisa added. "So I can share with Onee-chan as well, right?"

"I guess that's fine," Eli said, a little disappointed inside.

"Erena and I will take the guest room," Anju said.

"Hanayo and I can share a room so we can free up a room," Rin said, mostly to Tsubasa.

"That'd be appreciated. Having my own room is fine," Tsubasa said.

"Okay..." Umi finished her notes. "That should do it. Any last questions?"

"I have one."

Everyone turned to Nozomi, who had been fairly quiet up until now.

"Tsubasa? Can I ask why you came to us of all people to ask for a job?"

"Why?" Tsubasa asked. "Well, Muse and A-Rise got along really well even before. And I thought it'd be nice to work together for a change."

"That's nice. But that wasn't what you thought about first, was it?"

"N-Nozomi..." Eli said nervously. "I don't think..."

But before she could finished, Anju ended up laughing.

"Looks like we've been found out," she said.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Nico asked what everyone was thinking.

"It's true that it wasn't the first reason we wanted to come here," Erena admitted.

"The thing is," Tsubasa said, "We're really here for Honoka."

"What? You don't mean-" Umi started.

"We don't mean we're taking her from Muse," Anju said. "Just that, we've all fallen for Honoka's charm. Now we're here to get her ourselves."

"Well you can't," Kotori said. "We're-"

"Dating her?" Erena finished. "Sure, but she won't be able to have eight girlfriends forever. Especially when she's ready to settle down."

"Only one of us can spend the rest of their life with Honoka," Tsubasa said. "So, let's see who it'll be."

_W-what's going on?_ Yukiho thought to herself. _I wasn't expecting A-Rise to be like this as well... Huh? Arisa?_

While the commotion was going on in the living room, Arisa slipped outside to the hallway. She walked upstairs, and reached the top right as Honoka was coming out of her room.

"Ah, Arisa-chan."

"Hello Honoka-san."

"Sorry about that. My mom was calling again."

"It's okay. Honoka-san, I need to tell you something."

"Hmm? Wha-"

Before she could finish, Arisa cupped Honoka's face in both her hands. She stepped on her toes, and unlike a similar situation five years ago, Arisa placed her lips on Honoka's. Honoka was completely surprised, not able to react at all. She let Arisa finish the kiss.

"A-Arisa-chan... Why-"

"Why did I kiss you?" Arisa finished. She smiled. "Well, let's say Yukiho-chan isn't the only Kousaka I'm after anymore."

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Sorry this took a while to get finished. But I hope it was worth the wait. Eheh... remember how I said things would start getting silly after this chapter? Did this chapter meet your expectations? I hope I'm not out of my mind to try something like this. Let me know your thoughts in the reviews, please.**

**If you decide to stick around, I'll see you next chapter~**


	3. Sisterly Bonding

**To those wondering if Yukiho knows what's happening, you shall find out soon~**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Despite today being a rare day in which she had nothing scheduled, Honoka ended up waking early anyway. Though, she was impressed she even managed to sleep at all last night. Her mind was still shocked by Arisa's little surprise. But the biggest thing that's been on her mind since then was her little sister.

"I wonder if she knows about Arisa-chan..."

She stared up at the ceiling, deep in thought.

"I should probably tell her..."

"Tell who what?" came a new voice.

Honoka pulled her bed covers down a bit to see the door. "Ah, Umi-chan."

"Good morning, Honoka." The bluenette stepped into the room. Like Maki did yesterday, she opened up the curtains and watered the flower. "I wasn't expected you to be up early today."

"Yeah, it surprised me, too. Sorry about that." She knew how much the others enjoyed this little morning chore.

"It's fine." Umi sat on Honoka's bed and gave a kiss. "Now, what were you telling yourself earlier?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I need to talk to my sister. It's about something our mom told us."

"Does it have to be today?"

Honoka thought about that. "Well, I guess not. But because she and the others aren't going to start working here until tomorrow, I think it'd be better to try today. We haven't been able to spend time together like we used to, either."

"I see..." Umi smiled. "It's just like you to not sit still even when we give you the day off."

"Eheh... Well, what can I say?"

Umi just kissed Honoka again. "Come on, go wash up. I'll get you clothes for the day."

Honoka did what she was asked, getting out of bed and leaving the room. When she got back, she found Umi left out a nice outfit for her. A blue button-up shirt with a white pull-over sweater, shorts and black leggings, and a matching hair ribbon. After changing, she went down to the kitchen and told Nico not to cook for her this morning, though she wouldn't answer why. The rest of Muse were gathering for breakfast when Honoka announced she would be out for the day. Everyone was a little upset about not being able to eat breakfast with Honoka even for a day. Their reaction was probably a little more than Honoka would have thought, but she quickly casted that thought aside. She said her individual goodbyes before leaving.

She drove and picked up Yukiho from her and Arisa's apartment. They decided on a restaurant they would be able to eat at for breakfast. It was a place they've been to as a family a few times when their parents didn't want to make breakfast.

"It's been years since we've been here," Yukiho said as she took one last bite of her food.

"Yeah.. You know, it's been too long since we got to spend time like this," Honoka said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Well, it's because you almost never have a day to yourself anymore."

"I know... I'm sorry. We were a lot busier than we thought we would be after all these years."

"It's fine. It's not your fault, anyway. At least we have today."

"Yup! And today is all about you. We'll do whatever you want."

"Eh? But-"

Honoka shook her head. "Come on. I've wanted to spoil my little sister a bit for a while now."

"... You're the same as always." But she gave Honoka a look that told what she really meant.

"I've been looking forward to a day like this for years," Honoka said, smiling along with her sister.

Honoka handled the bill and they were on their way. The first place they went to was actually the arcade. They spent a few hours there, as they wanted to play almost every game they had. They got really into a few of the multiplayer games, earning them strange glances from others. Honoka was recognized a few times, but managed to get away with some autographs.

Afterwards, Yukiho wanted to go to the mall. They spent a lot of time at Yukiho's favorite clothing store. She did her best not to abuse the fact that Honoka was paying for everything, but she wanted to get a few outfits for her and Arisa. A few casual sets and a little more formal sets for when they start working for Muse tomorrow.

After that was the bookstore. While it wasn't as much as before, the Kousaka sisters never let go of their interest in manga. While once again not trying to take advantage of her sister too much, there were some series that she and Arisa have been wanting to finish. Now that she was getting the last volume of a few of those series, they'll be able to.

They ended up at the food court a few hours later than they had anticipated. They got some food and finally got to sit down. Honoka could not be any more thankful to finally get a break. They took their time eating, neither wanting to get back on their feet so soon.

"Sorry for making you pay for all of this," Yukiho said, looking at all the bags.

"It's fine. I did offer, after all," Honoka pointed out.

"Yeah... It's a lot of stuff though."

"Don't worry about it. You know, it's nice of you to have thought of Arisa-chan the entire time you were shopping."

"I-I guess so." Yukiho was blushing a bit.

"Speaking of which... there's something I need to talk to you about with Arisa-chan."

"That she kissed you last night?"

"W-what? You knew?"

"Well... not exactly. But I kind of had a feeling with what else happened last night."

"What do you mean?"

"...Maybe we should continue this in the car. Just in case."

Honoka looked around them. "You're probably right."

They picked up their bags and made their way back to Honoka's car. They did their best to be quick about it, as they didn't want to hold the bags for too long. Once they got everything in the car, they decided to change locations as well. So Honoka drove to a park, but they stayed in the car and parked in the parking lot.

"Alright," Yukiho started. "So, I guess I should tell you this as well. A-Rise is starting to go after you as well."

"Go after me?"

"Like, the way the rest of Muse are."

"...You don't mean love, do you?"

"That's exactly it."

Honoka sighed. "I don't believe this..."

"It's true. They told the others last night. Now there's some kind of free-for-all to be yours."

"I guess that explains everyone's reactions this morning. But what does this have to do with Arisa-chan?"

"Well, lately she's been telling me how she's starting to get really interested in you as well. And after A-Rise's declaration, I couldn't find Arisa. I assumed she went to make a move on you, which turned out to be true."

"I see..." Honoka sighed again. "Now I really won't get time to myself anymore."

"Must be nice, having all that attention..."

"Sometimes," Honoka admitted. "It can get very exhausting, too."

"Well, we'll be sharing a bedroom starting tomorrow. So, maybe I can help you out with all this."

"You would do that? Even with Arisa-chan after me as well?"

"That's all the more reason to help you with this."

"That's true. I guess we'll see what happens first."

"Alright."

Honoka started smiling. "Share a room huh? It's like we're kids again. Hey, are you still afrai-"

"Onee-chan!" Yukiho interrupted. "I'm not little anymore."

"You'll always be little to me."

Yukiho sighed. "Anyway... Do you have any plans for dealing with this right now?"

"Just to see how things start out."

"Seriously?"

"Well, it's not like I can push them away. They're all competing for my attention, after all. As long as they don't do anything that might ruin Muse, or our friendships, the only thing to do right now is see what happens."

"Well, I guess that makes sense."

Honoka nodded. "Besides, there's still the little thing Mom asked us to think about."

"Right..." They both sighed.

"Well, we still have a bit of time before either of us need to go back home. Anything else you want to do?"

Yukiho shook her head. "We've done pretty much everything I needed to today. Do you have something in mind?"

"Actually, yes. Something I've been meaning to do for a while now."

Honoka started the car again and drove off. Honoka didn't explain her idea, but Yukiho didn't bother asking. She figured she would find out soon enough, anyway. And sure enough, as they turned a familiar corner, she realized what Honoka meant.

The store they arrived at had closed earlier than usual today. But that didn't stop them from walking in. After all, their name is on the sign. They stepped into the empty sweets shop and went straight for the back, which lead to the Kousaka household. They walked into the living room to two very surprised faces.

"Honoka! Yukiho!" Their mom got up from the couch as quickly as she could and made her way over to hug her daughters.

"We're home," Yukiho said.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" their dad asked, waiting for his wife to finally let go so he could hug the girls as well.

"It was kind of a last-minute idea. I had the day off today," Honoka explained.

"I see. Well sit, sit," their mom motioned them to the couch. "I'll get you both some warm drinks."

They did as they were asked, taking spots on the couch. They waited for their mom to come back before they started filling them in on what's happened since they last talked. Of course, they left out the little detail of the others preparing to assault Honoka with their affection. No need to let them know about that, at least not yet.

"Well that's nice," their mom said. "You'll be working together now."

"Yup. We'll be starting tomorrow," Yukiho said.

"You know, for a while we were worried Yukiho would have to take care of you," their dad said to Honoka.

"Dad..." Honoka made a little pout, but they all laughed at the joke.

"Well, joking aside, thank you for looking after your sister." He placed an arm around Honoka.

"I'm glad to see you two are as close as before," their mom said. "Hey, Yukiho, are you still afraid of-"

"Why does everyone keep trying to bring that up?" Yukiho interrupted.

"Because you made a big fuss about it for the longest time," their dad said. "If it wasn't for Honoka, you would probably still be afraid of the dark."

Yukiho really felt like disappearing right now. She made a distressed noise while the others laughed.

"I still can't believe you two are all grown up now..." their mom said.

"Don't worry, Mom. We'll always be your little girls," Honoka said.

"I know you're just saying that, but thanks."

Honoka got up to give her mom a hug. "But I really mean it."

"But you're tall-" their dad started, but Yukiho elbowed him before he could finish.

"Anyway, we should get going now. The others are expecting us soon," Honoka told them.

The sisters gave their parents a hug and kiss goodbye before they made their way out. They took a little bit of a detour on their way back to Yukiho and Arisa's apartment, just to squeeze a little bit more time out of the day. But finally Honoka had to drop her off, and made her way home. She was very warmly welcomed home by the rest of Muse. Though, after today, she now knew why. She mentally began preparing herself for the coming days.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Nothing much to explain here. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know your thoughts and everything, please :3**

**New semester starts tomorrow for me. Letting you all know now that my updates will probably start to slow down a bit. I'll try not to be gone for long periods of time, though. **

**See you next time~**


	4. First Day

**A picture of the picture mentioned in this chapter is in my Dropbox, which you can find on my profile.**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

It was Eli's turn to wake Honoka up the next morning. It wasn't hard for her to realize this by the way Eli usually accomplished the task.

"Good morning, Eli-chan," Honoka said as she opened her eyes.

"Good morning, Honoka," Eli replied. "You knew it was me?"

Honoka smirked. "Of course. You're the only one who kisses me before I get up."

"I see. Well, that just means I get the most morning kisses from you."

"Hehe, that's true." Honoka stretched. "It's early, huh? Today is going to be a long day."

"Well, Umi gave you an early start today. Though, I'm not sure why... Also, we have to help Arisa and the others bring their belongings into their rooms."

Honoka caught Eli whisper _unfortunately_ under her breath. She didn't make a big deal out of this, since she knew why. She also figured why Umi had adjusted her schedule for today. It had to do with what Yukiho told her yesterday. She should probably mind, but Honoka learned to actually enjoy these things when it was just Muse. She enjoyed it when they were happy, after all. And some of the things they'll do for some time with Honoka were interesting for her as well. Right now, though, she decided to cheer Eli up a little before Honoka would carry out her little plan for the day.

"Are my clothes ready?" she asked.

"Ah, yes," Eli replied. "I've laid them out already."

"Great. Thanks, Eli-chan."

She reached up to Eli and gave her another kiss. She indulged a little extra in it before separating from the blond to get out of bed and get ready. When she got downstairs, she found that it was still dark and empty. She realized that it was a really early hour, even for some of Muse.

She decided that she couldn't waste time waiting for Nico to wake up, so she made a simple breakfast for herself. She started eating around when the others started to get up and make their way downstairs. She finished up and cleaned her dishes, then made sure she would be ready to leave before she returned to the table with the rest of Muse.

"Sorry, Honoka," Umi apologized. "I'll finish and get ready quickly."

"Don't worry, Umi-chan. Actually, about that.. I was thinking of doing things on my own today."

She got a surprised reaction throughout the table.

"Why all of a sudden?" Kotori asked.

"You're schedule is busy quite busy today, though," Maki added.

"That might be true," Honoka admitted. "But Yukiho-chan and the others will be arriving soon. And I would rather have everyone here to help them while I'm out."

"But won't you need help?" Umi asked.

"I think I can handle it for a day. Besides, I really need you here to help, Umi-chan. There needs to be a few people to keep things running while also organizing the rooms."

"Alright..."

"Thanks." She smiled at Umi before looking at everyone else. "Everyone needs to help out as much as possible, alright?"

The others either said _hai_ or nodded in response. Honoka smiled again.

"Good." She started walking, but turned before reaching the door. "Oh, and now that we'll have more people living with us starting today, maybe more of you can accompany me on jobs from now on."

Leaving them with that to think about, she exited the room and left the house.

* * *

"Thanks for having me!" she said, waving as she made her way to her car. "Glad that's over with..." she sighed once she had shut the door and couldn't be heard.

Honoka looked at the schedule that Umi had given her. She's seen it a few times already, looking in between each of her stops. But looking at it still amused her. Usually, Umi worked the day out so that they had enough time to get to each place without the risk of being late and without having to wait for too long. However for today, she was given a lot of extra time between meetings. Honoka could tell it was to spend time together.

"Maybe I should have let her come along anyway," she said to herself. "It probably wouldn't have hurt."

Honoka had about half an hour of time before she had to head to the venue that Muse's Christmas concert will be held at. The meeting was to talk about the extra rehearsal time they requested.

Right now though, she had to find something to do for the next half hour before that meeting. She started her car and drove off. She took it a bit slow, scanning the streets to see if she could find something interesting enough to spend her extra time at.

After a few minutes of finding nothing worth visiting, Honoka sighed. She pulled into a parking lot and started rummaging around her car.

"I have to have a book or something in here, right?"

If she did, she wasn't able to find it anywhere. She started looking through a stack of papers that were for some reason or another on the floor on the passenger side. As she paged through them, something slipped out from the papers.

It was a picture. And one the Honoka quickly recognized. It was from her birthday five years ago, after all of Muse made their confessions. By the time this picture was taken, Honoka had already made her crazy choice to date all eight of them. The more she looked at this picture, the bigger the smile that crept onto her face became.

"Everyone was incredibly happy at that time."

She started to miss that time a bit. It was definitely a lot easier on all of them before. Not that how they all were now was bad, but they were all a lot busier than back then. She doesn't get to spend as much personal time with each of them anymore, or give them the attention she would like. Though she didn't have many options at the moment to fix that. Except for...

Honoka shook her head at the thought. "I'll think about that later."

She looked back at the picture. Somehow, her mind started wandering to A-Rise, as well as Arisa and Yukiho. Love or not, Honoka hopes she'll be able to have similar memories like this with them as well.

"I wonder how they're doing right now..."

Her phone alarm started going off, telling Honoka it was almost time for her next meeting. A little confused how she managed to spend that much time, she got back onto the road and headed for the venue.

* * *

With the reception counter closed for the day, Yukiho was upstairs watching as everyone else were going about their business. She, like her sister, was a bit worried to see how everyone would react, having everyone's feelings out in the open.

_Onee-chan will be happy to see this,_ she thought to herself.

"Not bad.." Nico said, tasting a bit of Anju's food.

"Really? Thanks, Nico-san," Anju said with a smile.

Nico took another bite as she was deep in thought. "I guess... We should use your dish for dinner tonight," she finally admitted.

That took Anju by surprise. "A-are you sure?"

"Don't get me wrong. Honoka definitely deserves to try this cooking herself. But this won't happen all the time."

"Eheh... Well Honoka-san does seem to enjoy your cooking. Guess I won't be taking that spot from you any time soon."

"Hey, Anju-san, Nico-san," Arisa called as she entered the kitchen. "Are you two in the middle of making dinner?"

"Kind of," Nico answered. "Why?"

"Kotori would like some feedback on some of her ideas," Nozomi said as she entered behind Arisa.

"Alright. I guess I'll go then, since Anju will be in charge of dinner tonight," Nico said as she took off her apron.

"Oh? Nico-chi's admitting defeat already?" Nozomi teased.

"You couldn't be more wrong. I'm just giving her a chance to impress Honoka."

"Hai, hai." Nozomi giggled as the two of them left the kitchen.

"Do you want some help then, Anju-san?" Arisa asked.

"Thank you, that would be great if you can," Anju smiled back.

Yukiho smiled from a little distance away as she watched her girlfriend and one of the girls she admired before Muse were getting along. She decided she'll check on the others, and left the seat she was in. She passed by the living room. She saw Rin laying curled up on one end of the couch. Hanayo was on the other end of the couch, reading the book she had with her downstairs. They both noticed her and waved, and she waved back before proceeding through the hall.

The first room she passed by was the one Eli and Erena were working in. She took a quick peek inside.

"Hey, what do you think about this?" Erena asked, showing Eli one of the papers in front of her.

"Harasho..."

"Hara... what?"

"N-nothing. Anyway, I think that'll be great. If we send the right members for this, it'll help give them some deserved spotlight."

"I thought so too. And what about this?"

"I'd love to see Honoka in that..." Eli froze. "W-wait I mean..."

"I don't disagree with you on that idea..." Erena said.

Yukiho could only see their backs, but she could tell they were probably blushing quite hard at the moment. _Maybe Kotori will get a fun project out of this_, she thought before she continued past the room.

She happened to pass by the room Kotori works in next. Though, not to her surprise, the three Muse inside were getting along fine. The last stop on this little walk was where Umi and Tsubasa were. She peeked into a similar scene to Erena and Eli.

"Does Honoka have to be the one handling all of these?" Tsubasa asked.

"Well... I suppose not. But she's one of the members that will get them the most attention," Umi pointed out.

"That's true... Well, why don't we spread it out a little more, now that we're working here."

"That would probably be the best idea. We could take a few more of these jobs then if we distribute it between two or three people."

"It will probably relieve a lot of the stress from Honoka as well."

Yukiho walked away from the room, still with a smile on her face. She wasn't quite sure where she wanted to go now, but she didn't have to think much about it anymore, as she heard the door open. She walked to the front as Honoka was closing the door. Before Yukiho could great her, Honoka held a finger to her lips, asking that she stay silent. Once she got her shoes off, the two of them went upstairs to their shared room.

Honoka fell onto her bed. "This feel so good," she said.

"Hard day?" Yukiho asked.

"Not really... Just a long day."

"I see..."

"Yeah." Honoka turned over so she could see Yukiho. "Glad to be home, though."

"Yeah.."

Yukiho wasn't really sure why, but she thought back to what she heard the others say earlier. Honoka certainly wasn't expecting Yukiho to suddenly lay on the bed and rest her head on Honoka's stomach.

"Uh... Yukiho-chan?"

"You know, I've wondered what it is about you that everyone else here is so drawn to."

"But what does that have to do with this?"

Yukiho shrugged. "I thought maybe I'd find my answer."

"And did you?"

"Well, if my question was whether or not you'd make comfortable pillow, then yes I did."

Honoka smiled. "I think I've started rubbing off on you."

"Maybe. You should see how everyone is getting along."

"They're getting along? That's a bit unexpected..."

"Come on I'll show you."

They got off the bed and snuck downstairs. Yukiho showed her each room and what everyone was doing. It made Honoka smile, seeing everyone getting along, despite what she found out yetserday.

_Guess it won't be hard to create memories with everyone._

The last stop they made was the living room, where they found that both Rin and Hanayo had fallen asleep.

"I guess I should let everyone know I'm home now, huh?" she asked Yukiho.

"Are you really asking me?"

They both laughed, then Honoka got on her knees at the foot of the couch by Rin. She started petting Rin on the head. Eventually, it woke her up. She rubbed her eyes until she could see clearly, and was quite surprised to find out who was petting her.

"Honoka-chan!"

The next thing anyone knew, Rin had pounced on Honoka, and they ended up on the floor with Rin cuddling Honoka. Yukiho could hear doors opening followed by footsteps, telling her that the rest of the house was now aware that their beloved was home.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Don't worry, I'm alive. Turns out half my courses assign weekly rather than daily. Looks like I'll have a bit of time to write after all :3**

**Things in this story will start progressing, I promise.**

**Honoka:** Is this really something I'll have to look forward to?

**...Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Honoka: **Hey, answer me!

***pats shoulders* Calm down. It's just a story. It (most likely) won't happen.**

**Honoka: **Okay... Wait did you just say-

**Anyway! Please let me know what you think so far. Would you like to say goodbye?**

**Honoka: **Bye everyone! Hope to see you next time! And you Mister, tell me what you just said!

**Uh, Bye everyone! see you next time! *runs***


	5. Her Job

**Raine-chi: Why yes, that scene was a little bit of a shout out X3 nice catch.**

**Satsuki Rin: Haha, yeah you can say it's the calm before the storm. But that's the fun part X3 And Umi didn't do that just because of what happened in chapter 2. I mean, when you know you share a love with 7 other people, you're going to want to get tiny advantages here and there, right? ;) well, not like that happens in real life but yeah X3**

**Major Mike Powell III: LOL! No no, Major-kun, this story isn't going THAT far xp I just like them to have a more personal sibling relationship, rather than how little they interacted in say, the anime. And hey, who's to say dating Arisa didn't loosen Yukiho up a bit? X3**

**furrballnerd: Haha, well I figured that as adults, they won't have quite soo many crazy moments. And to be honest I almost wanted to something where they shared a big room, but then again I could save that for a future chapter to have some fun. So they don't start with one room. ;)**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Honoka was sleeping peacefully, until she felt something moving her bed. She tried to ignore it to get a little more sleep in, but the movement persisted. It wasn't until something hit her leg that Honoka finally gave up trying to sleep. She threw the covers off of her head and sat up in bed.

And within moments she instantly regretted her actions. At the foot of her bed was Yukiho and Arisa. Yukiho was pinned by Arisa, and they were having quite the make-out session. Honoka almost wanted to say nothing and attempt to sleep again, but something in her mind wasn't letting her off that easily. She cleared her throat, getting the younger women's attention.

"Ah, Honoka-san," Arisa said.

She instantly got off Yukiho and crawled on the bed, ending up beside Honoka and wrapping her arms around her.

"Good morning."

"Uh, good morning, Arisa-chan," Honoka said. "And good morning Yukiho-chan."

"Good morning, Onee-chan," Yukiho said.

"By the way... Weren't you supposed to be preventing stuff like this from happening?"

"... She attacked me in my sleep. There was no way around that."

"Right..." Honoka looked over to the clock on her desk. "It's still early, huh?"

"Sorry," Arisa apologized. "I woke up really early and couldn't get back to sleep."

"That's alright. I just wasn't expecting it to be this early." She pat Arisa on the head, then looked at Yukiho. "Hey, could you make some coffee, please?"

"Oh, I can do it," Arisa said, getting up quickly.

"Thanks, Arisa-chan."

Yukiho waited for Arisa to leave the room. "I'm really sorry Onee-chan."

Honoka shook her head. "Don't be. Does she usually get up really early?"

"No... At least, not _this_ early. But she's usually up before me."

"Good to know."

After a little stretch, Honoka got out of bed, and Yukiho got off as well. They cleaned the room up as best as they could. Though, with Yukiho's stuff pushed against the wall and the room having to be rearranged temporarily so they could sleep, it couldn't really be considered clean at all. The proper rearranging of the room was something that should've been handled last night. But they both agreed on putting it off in favor of sleep.

Once they decided their efforts were enough, they exited the room. They quietly made their way through the hallway and downstairs, meeting with Arisa in the kitchen. She had already started on the coffee and was sitting at the table, playing some game on her phone. Yukiho sat with Arisa, while Honoka was a few seats away. She was on her phone as well, checking her email. There were a lot for her to read, which was a reminder of how close their live was getting, and also how much work they still had to do.

"Good morning," they heard a new voice say.

Honoka looked up from her phone. "Ah, good morning Umi-chan."

"Good morning," Arisa and Yukiho said.

The bluenette sat in the chair beside Honoka. She moved the chair a little closer, holding Honoka's arm and resting her head on Honoka's shoulder.

"So what are you doing up this early?" Umi asked.

"Well, _some_ people were having a little make-out session," Honoka said, gesturing a hand to the younger pair. "And then I couldn't go back to sleep."

"Oh, I see..."

"Yeah, but oh well. What about you?"

"Well, I am in the room next to you after all. There was enough noise that woke me up."

"Oh... I'm sorry, Umi-chan."

Umi brought one hand to Honoka's face, turning her away from her phone so Umi could give her a kiss. After a couple of seconds, their lips parted again. Umi looked up to Honoka with a smile

"You don't have to be sorry for anything," she said.

Honoka smiled. "Whatever you say."

"Did you look over your schedule for today?"

"Yup. Today we have a few meetings for our concert, and we also start rehearsals."

"That's right."

"And you'll be taking me like usual?"

Umi nodded. "That'll be okay, right?"

"Of course. I was just wondering if you've changed anything now that the others are working here."

"We have, but not yet. They're starting out slow since they're just starting."

"Oh, okay. So everything will work out?"

"Yes. Everything should be fine."

"That's good. Thanks Umi-chan, for being so helpful."

"You're welcome," Umi said as Honoka gave her another kiss.

"If you two are done..." Arisa said from behind them, placing two coffee mugs down for them.

"Ah, thanks Arisa-chan." There was a happy sigh as Honoka took a sip.

Shortly after, the others in the house started waking up. Anju started on breakfast, as she woke up earlier than Nico. But Nico helped her with breakfast once she was fully awake. During breakfast, Honoka reminded everyone about rehearsals later in the day. As usual, Honoka's positive energy was infectious to those around her, and everyone was in a good mood this morning.

Of course, a certain amount of their happiness came just from Honoka being there. The mood got a lot calmer around the house when Honoka had to leave. Even more so as Umi followed along with her. But the two of them were still in a good mood as they made their way downstairs and to the nearby parking lot. They got into Umi's car and went off to take care of business for the day.

They arrived at the first meeting spot. Umi parked on the street out in front of the building. Honoka knew Umi usually read a book in the car while she waited for the meeting to finish. This time, she had other plans for one of her oldest friends.

"Hey, Umi-chan," she said.

Umi looked over right before she could open the book in her lap. "What?"

"Would you like to come to the meeting with me?"

"Eh? Are you sure that'll be okay?"

"Why not? You're like my assistant after all. And you can help me in case I forget something."

"Well when you put it that way... I'd love to come."

"Then let's go!"

After Umi put her book back, the two of them got out of the car, and together they walked up the steps into the building. It wasn't the first time they've been here for a meeting, so Honoka already knew what to do. She checked in at the front desk and then they took the elevator up to the top floor. Then they waited outside the conference room until they were called in.

Even though Honoka asked Umi for help, Umi saw that she actually didn't need it. Honoka was able to handle most of the meeting by herself. Though on the few occasions that she did ask for help, Umi was quite happy and made sure to do a good job.

"Well, I think that went well," Honoka said, stretching in her seat once they were the last two in the conference room.

"Agreed. Though, was the last bit really necessary?" Umi asked.

"Of course! Even with the little things, we have to make sure our fans have great treatment during our performances."

"I know that, but I meant the extra food you ordered."

"Oh that. Well, we have to have something good for the after-party, right?"

Umi smiled. "Even after all these years, you still think a lot about food."

"Eheh... You know that's something you love about me."

"Eh? What makes you say that?"

"The bentos in your car."

"O-oh... those? It was actually Nic-"

"I know you made them, Umi-chan."

"Oh, I see."

Honoka pulled Umi close to give her a kiss. "Thanks, Umi-chan. I'm sure they'll be great."

"It's no trouble..."

"Come on. We have a lot of time before the other meeting. Let's eat them together."

"Okay. I'd love to."

Together they left the conference building and back into Umi's car. They left the area to find a nice spot to just sit and eat. In the end they chose to eat at a park. They picked a bench in a quieter area of the park, and Umi took out the bentos.

"As expected, your bentos are still really good," Honoka said.

"You think so?" Umi asked.

"Yup! It's too bad you can't make these more often, but I guess that makes them extra special."

Umi smiled. "Well, if you want a bit more..." She picked up some meat from her box with her chopsticks and held them up.

"Ah, really?"

"Are you really asking?"

"Thanks, Umi-chan. Aah-"

Honoka happily took the food in her mouth, chewing with a content smile on her face. Honoka returned the favor, picking a small carrot from her box and feeding it to Umi.

"Eheh, doesn't this bring back memories?" Honoka asked.

"You mean during high school?"

"Yeah. And all of you were chasing after me at the same time."

"Right... That's something we wouldn't mind if you forgot."

"But why? So many great things happened because of that."

"Like what?"

"Well, that was the first time you made a bento for anyone, remember?"

"That's true..."

"They were good back then, but you've gotten even better now. All because of what happened."

A light red touched Umi's face. "I-I"m glad you think that way."

Honoka noticed and giggled a little. "You still get embarrassed pretty easily, though."

"You know that's something you love about me," Umi said with a smile.

Honoka smiled back, then leaned over to lock lips with the bluenette. They only kissed for a couple of seconds before separating again.

"You're right, that is one of the things I love about you," Honoka said.

They both smiled before returning to their bentos, and once again feeding each other. Umi put the bentos away once they were finished. They still had some time left before they had to go again, so they decided just to rest on the bench. Honoka scooted close to Umi, resting her head on the bluenette's shoulder.

"Umi-chan, thanks for today," she said.

"You're welcome, Honoka," Umi said. "Although, I didn't do much aside from the bento."

"That's not true. After all, you did make today's schedule so we could spend more time together, right?"

"Ah... So you found out."

"Mhm. Which is why I had you come with me into the meeting this time."

"Wait... You mean you did that just so we could spend that bit of extra time together?"

Honoka nodded. "And I was wondering if you'd come assist me with the next meeting, too."

"I'd love to, of course."

"Great, because we have to go now."

Umi frowned. "Maybe I should've pushed the meeting back a little longer."

Honoka just giggled before popping up from the bench. She offered Umi her hand, helping the bluenette to her feet. Then they walked hand in hand back to the car. They drove to the next meeting. Similar to the first, Honoka had no trouble discussing what they needed.

Now that they have permission for their five new housemates to be backstage with them at all times during the performance, all that was left was for the two of them to head to back home and get ready for rehearsal. As they drove home, Umi couldn't help but smile to herself, satisfied by how the day had turned out so far.

_It feels nice to have an edge like this,_ Umi thought. _I'm definitely not giving this job up to anyone so easily._

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I won't complain too much about my personal life. But already having an exam, and being in the middle of a two-part exam, on top of working on a second essay, the last few days have not been kind.**

**Still, I'm glad to finally get back to this story. I didn't mean to keep you all waiting for this long. My attention has been on other things in terms of FanFiction. Namely the two oneshots I did and finishing up True Feelings. Hopefully this chapter somewhat makes up for the long wait.**

**Speaking of the story for a bit, it'll probably be similar to the prequel. That's to say, the chapters for a while will be focused on either one or two girls spending time with Honoka. Obviously here, we start off with Umi. And yes, we'll get around to every girl in the harem eventually. Question is how many chapters that'll take, haha.**

**I won't be fully focusing on this story though. I want to try and get oneshots done every once in a while as well. As usual, whichever idea comes up first will be what I write and what you'll see updated next. **

**Anyway, thanks for sticking around if you're still here. See you next time~**

**(My silly notes might come back next chapter ;] )**


	6. Sharing

**Satsuki Rin: Yup, no one is aware of Arisa's feelings aside from Yukiho and Honoka herself. And as far as the morning routines will go, yes it will change. It should still be interesting though, I'll say that much.**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

It was another slow day back at home for the others. Aside from a few people that came by, there was really nothing for them to do. So it was even more of a welcome sight when Honoka and Umi came back a bit earlier than they were supposed to. Of course, they were mostly interested in Honoka being around again.

Though, because it's earlier than usual, there was still time before the others' were done with work for the day and they could go to rehearsal. So they all continued with what they had been doing. And while Umi decided to sit and rest, Honoka chose to go around and check up on everyone.

She first checked on Eli and Erena, who had the floor plan for the concert hall and were deciding on the audience layout and vendors. Next was Kotori, Nico, and Anju, who were in the nearby room deciding on which costumes would be worn for each set of songs. In their small music room was Maki, working on ideas for new songs on the electric keyboard. In the kitchen was Nozomi, Arisa, and Tsubasa, preparing snacks for before they left and water for rehearsal. Last stop was downstairs, where Rin was handling the merchandise and Hanayo was handling incoming calls.

"Yay! We're finally done!" Rin exclaimed, stretching as she sat back in her chair.

"It was a pretty slow day, wasn't it?" Hanayo asked, relaxing in her chair as well.

"Eheh, well thanks for your hard work, you two," Honoka said.

"Say, how about a small reward for our work?" Rin asked, getting up from her seat.

"Well, you probably wouldn't take no for an answer, huh?" Honoka gave Rin a kiss.

"Hehe, nope!"

After Rin let go of Honoka, Hanayo got up from her seat to get a kiss as well.

"Well, how about we close up here and meet with the others upstairs?" Honoka asked after.

"That's right, we finally get to start rehearsals today," Hanayo said.

"It feels like so long since our last performance. I can't wait!" Rin said excitedly.

"It was just in the summer that we last performed," Hanayo pointed out. "But I'm started to get excited, too."

"Hehe, well let's hurry here then," Honoka said.

Honoka helped Rin and Hanayo with closing. Though because of rehearsals, they only had to lock up and make sure everything was safe. Once they were done with that they went upstairs together to the living room to gather with the others. Rin and Hanayo were holding onto each of Honoka's arms as they entered the living room.

"They you three are," Umi said, noticing them walking in.

"Took you're time I see..." Eli said, more to Rin and Hanayo.

"Sorry, just took a little longer than expected," Hanayo said, smiling sweetly.

"Anyway..." Honoka said, not wanting more to happen. "Are we ready to go?"

"Should be now," Maki answered.

"Great. And how about you all?" she said toward the new five. "Will you be coming as well?"

"Of course!" Arisa said excitedly. "I've always wanted to see what your rehearsals were like."

"You can count me in with that," Yukiho added.

"And we'll be going too, of course," Tsubasa answered. "It is part of our jobs anyway."

"Hehe, alright," Honoka said.

"Since there's more of us, how about we take the vans this time?" Nozomi suggested.

"Sure. That'll probably make things easier then," Eli said.

"Yup, and we can stick to the two of us driving. Unless anyone else wants to drive."

"I think we'll pass this first time," Tsubasa said.

"Well, come on everyone," Honoka said. "We're going to be late if we take any longer."

"Someone's starting to get a little impatient," Kotori said jokingly.

Honoka pouted a little, making everyone laugh. Eventually, they went downstairs and through the back entrance to the parking lot. There was a fair bit of back-and-forth between the others about who was going to ride in which van. Though no one directly said it, Honoka knew it was because of her again.

Thankfully, it didn't take too long for them to decide. Honoka rode with Yukiho, Eli, Arisa, Rin, Hanayo, and Maki, while the others were in the other van. Rin and Hanayo still didn't let go of Honoka, which helped to decide things quicker. Finally, they had arrived at the arena their concert will be held.

"Wow... Look at this place," Rin said, looking around as they walked inside.

"It's a lot bigger than our last venue," Eli said.

"Well it is the largest in the area," Tsubasa pointed out.

"And you will get to practice here?" Anju asked.

Umi nodded. "The owners wanted us to practice a few extra days here, and make sure that the things we need work properly."

"Yup. We usually use our own space for practice otherwise," Kotori said.

"Do we have a setlist ready to practice?" Honoka asked.

"Yup. I have it right here," Maki said, pulling out her music player and a folded-up piece of paper from her coat pocket.

"Should we be using the sound system so we can test it out?" Hanayo asked.

"I don't think we should for today," Nozomi said. "We don't really know how to use it."

"We can take care of that," Yukiho said, indicating her and Arisa.

"Yeah, we'll look now so by tomorrow you can practice with it," Arisa said.

"Great. Then let's start!" Honoka exclaimed.

The nine Muse members took their coats off and made their way onto the big stage. Maki gave Erena her music player and the song list and showed her how the portable speakers worked. Once they were ready, Erena started the first song. While Muse ran through the setlist, Anju and Tsubasa were moving around different parts of the audience. They were gauging how everything looked from different angles in the audience. After one song they both met back in the center of the front row to watch the rest.

Occasionally as they practiced, a loud noise would go off and ring through the nearly-empty arena. After the first time, Yukiho came down and apologized, saying it was them figuring things out. Every time after they ignored the sounds and continued to practice, as they were only reviewing the choreography. The set Maki made so far had fourteen songs, but they only got through seven of them before they had to take a break.

"Here you go," Hanayo said as she sat next to Honoka in the front row, handing her a water bottle.

"Thanks, Hanayo-chan," Honoka said, taking it and immediately drinking a lot of the water. "Wahh, much better."

"A little tired?"

"Yeah... I sometimes forget I'm not as energetic as I used to be."

"Hehe, yeah but you're still our energetic leader."

"Yup. That's right nya!" came a voice behind Honoka.

Honoka turned to the seat to her left. "Ah, Rin-chan."

"Sorry for surprising you. Here."

Rin took one of the extra towels she had and wiped the sweat from Honoka's face.

"Thanks, Rin-chan," Honoka said once she was done.

"You're welcome." Rin smiled. She then handed the other extra towel she had to Hanayo.

"Thanks," Hanayo said, wiping herself with the towel. "So what about you, Rin-chan? Are you tired?"

"A little bit."

"I guess we've been slacking too much on our workout," Honoka said.

"I wonder how the others are feeling," Hanayo said, looking at the others sitting further down the row and some on the stage.

"They seem to be fine," Rin said, not turning around.

"Eh, are you sure?" Honoka asked.

Honoka was about to turn to look, but as she did she was caught by Rin, who pulled her into a kiss. Hanayo watched patiently for a few seconds, then decided on separating them. Only, it was so she could turn Honoka to her and kiss her as well. Hanayo tried to make it last as long as possible but Rin seemed to catch on, and separated them after a few seconds.

"That's not fair Kayo-chin," Rin said.

"Eh? But you did it first. I was just having a turn to make it even," Hanayo replied with a smile.

"You could have waited a little longer though..."

"Uhm..." Honoka said, interrupting the two.

"Oh right, sorry Honoka-chan," Hanayo said.

"Yeah, we didn't mean to fight in front of you," Rin said.

"We're sorry," Hanayo finished.

Honoka looked between the two of them. Each were giving her a slight pleading look. Eventually, she sighed.

"Alright, I forgive both of you," she said. "Just try not to let it happen again."

"Hai," they said in unison.

Rin and Hanayo looked across at one another. They seemed to be thinking the same thing, as they both leaned in at the same time, kissing Honoka on either cheek. It surprised Honoka, but only for a moment. It even brought a smile to Honoka's face.

"Hey, do you remember when you two used to do this all the time?" Honoka asked once the dual kiss was done.

"Yup." Rin answered first. "It was a little after Eli-chan, Nico-chan, and Nozomi-chan had graduated."

"Yeah, and you didn't want any of us to start fighting over you," Hanayo added.

Honoka nodded. "You two spent so much time with me that year, at the same time."

"Hehe, yeah. And we couldn't agree on who got a turn alone with you," Rin said.

"So we ended up deciding to share our time with you," Hanayo finished.

"Yeah... You two don't do that as much now, though," Honoka pointed out.

"Well, we are a lot busier now compared to back then," Hanayo said.

"Nya, that's right," Rin said. "Well... there's another reason we don't do it as much anymore..."

Though Rin and Hanayo got kind of quiet after that and didn't say it, Honoka knew exactly what they meant. She smiled again, and reached her right arm over to Hanayo, pulling her closer. She then did the same with Rin using her left arm. She hugged the two close to her.

"Hehe, well either way, it was nice of you two to do it again," she said.

"Well... if you three are done here..."

"Ah, Umi-chan," Honoka said looking up. "Are we going to start again?"

"Yes, unless you three aren't done..."

"Aww, don't be like that, Umi-chan." Honoka got up, giving the bluenette a peck on the cheek. "Come on, let's get back to rehearsal."

Honoka cheerfully walked passed Umi and back to the stage. Umi tried to turn quickly to follow, but both Rin and Hanayo caught the blush on her face. They quietly laughed before they both got up to follow as well.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**I actually had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, and I'm not quite sure why. So that's the main reason that this chapter took so long to finish. I hope it's still an okay enough chapter for you all. I'll try to do better next time.**

**An essay and some exams means my next update may take a bit of time. Hopefully not as much as this last chapter took to update, but we'll see. Thanks if you're sticking around for all the difficulties.**

**Not much to say, so I'll see you next time~**


	7. Relaxation

**furrballnerd: Yeah. With how many there are now, there will be a bit of arguing here and there. Though that's not much of a surprise, haha. And Muse have been busy-bodies, so they've all been slacking a bit ;). "Just don't let it happen again" Oh man that line got me good. X3**

**Satsuki Rin: Heh, yeah. Gotta keep things interesting, and it did give me a chance to show what happened in the big time gap between stories. And I can't imagine them fighting either, at least in my stories. Glad I could make you happy. And yeah, my beta and I have been busy with college and work, so I've been giving her a bit of a break with beta-reads. I guess it's starting to show in my work though. X3**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Honoka woke up on her own the next morning. She laid still for a few minutes until she was more awake. Once she was, she started to hear soft noises from somewhere in her room. Curiously, she sat up in her bed and looked around. It turned out to be Anju, who was folding Yukiho's blanket.

"Oh, good morning Honoka," Anju greeted once she noticed that Honoka was awake.

"Good morning, Anju," Honoka replied. "What are you up to?"

"Just tidying up Yukiho's stuff, so that there's more space."

"But shouldn't Yukiho-chan be doing that herself?"

"I suppose so. Though I am supposed to help out wherever I can. So it's no trouble for me to do this."

"I see... Well thank you for your help," Honoka said, smiling.

Anju smiled back. "My pleasure."

Honoka looked over at the clock on her side table. It was an hour until noon.

"Eh? It's this late already? Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"Honoka, you have no more meetings until after the concert," Anju reminded her.

"Oh, that's right." She rubbed the back of her head. "Eheh, I guess I forgot."

Anju laughed a bit. "Well aside from rehearsals, you have no more work during the day."

"Yeah, at least for now. Guess I'll stay and rest for today."

"Oh? That's a bit surprising to hear from you."

"Eheh, well I have been pretty busy lately. So I was thinking of staying home."

"I see. Well, I'm sure everyone will be glad having you around today."

Anju went back to cleaning up the room. Honoka watched as Anju finished with Yukiho's belongings and started straightening out Honoka's desk. Honoka found it rather interesting. With the rest of Muse, cleaning up her room was not something that they were responsible for. It's not anyone's job to clean the rooms, either. Everyone was responsible for taking care of their own room.

Yet here was Anju cleaning her room right in front of her. Honoka was pretty sure that Anju knew she didn't have to be doing this. Especially since her actual job was helping Nico and Kotori with the food and costumes. Honoka thought about saying something, but then stopped herself.

_She does like me after all,_ she thought. _It would be mean to stop her knowing that._

Honoka then made up her mind. She got out of bed and stretched.

"Hey, Anju."

"Yes?" Anju asked, turning from the desk.

"Would you like to make me something from breakfast?"

"Eh? But Nico already made breakfast."

"Well yeah, but it's probably cold now. And fresh food tastes better, you know?"

"I suppose you have a point. Well alright, I'd be happy to make breakfast for you."

"Great! I'll go wash up and meet you downstairs."

As Honoka was about to turn, she saw Anju's eyes peak to the side. Honoka didn't have to look to know what Anju had looked at.

"Could you fix my bed too, while you're at it?"

Anju clearly wasn't expecting Honoka to ask. "Huh? A-ah, sure."

"Thanks, Anju-chan."

Honoka turned and hid a smile as she walked away, leaving a blushing Anju staring after her.

* * *

Without an appointment or meeting to think about, Honoka was able to take things easy as she went about her morning. She took time to make sure she looked somewhat presentable, even though she was staying home and knew that no one else would mind if she cleaned up or not.

She was also taking her time so Anju could make breakfast, or at least she tried to. Honoka got to the kitchen a bit before Anju was done. Honoka was pretty hungry, so she decided to eat part of the breakfast Nico made while she waited. Luckily, she didn't have to wait long.

"Here we go," Anju said, setting a plate down in front of Honoka.

"Ah, here's something we don't usually have," Honoka said. On the plate were eggs, hashbrown, and a slice of toast.

"I thought I'd mix it up a little. Hope it's okay."

"Hehe, it's fine." Honoka clapped her hands together. "Itadakimasu."

Anju watched as Honoka took her first bite. She was a bit nervous, but instantly felt relieved when Honoka's face lit up.

"Mm, this is really good," Honoka said, smiling as she took another bite.

"I'm glad you like it," Anju said, relieved.

Honoka finished yet another bite. Then she picked up some of the eggs with her chopsticks and held it up to Anju. "Here, you should have some too."

"E-eh? But-"

"You don't have to be embarrassed. It's fine."

"A-alright..." Anju's face was a little red anyway.

Honoka smiled, holding the chopsticks up again. "Aa.~"

Anju was still a little hesitant, but in the end let Honoka feed her. Anju knew how her own cooking tasted, as she used to cook for A-Rise often. Yet this time, the food tasted a little different. Anju couldn't tell if it was because this time she cooked for Honoka, or because Honoka was feeding it to her. Whatever the reason was, the food tasted better than usual, and Anju wasn't going to complain any time soon.

Honoka continued to eat the rest of her breakfast, while occasionally feeding another bite to Anju. She noticed that Anju started to look more comfortable as this went on.

_That's good for her_, Honoka thought. _She won't be able to spend as much time with me if she gets embarrassed by these kind of things._

"Uhm... Honoka?" Anju asked, wondering why Honoka was suddenly quiet.

"Ah, sorry about that," she said. "Thanks for breakfast, Anju-chan."

"You're welcome..."

Despite Honoka thinking Anju was getting comfortable, she saw that Anju had a slight blush again. Honoka couldn't help but smile at the sight, barely keeping herself from chuckling as well.

"What are you smiling at?" Anju asked.

"Oh, nothing,~" Honoka said lightly. She got up to put away her dishes.

"Huh?" Anju was starting to get hopelessly confused by this point.

"Hey, Anju," Honoka called. "Do you want to do something else for me, too?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

Honoka reappeared from the kitchen. "Come on, follow me."

She led Anju down the hall. They walked by the room Nico and Kotori were in, working on costumes. Anju had peered in, guessing that they were having a nice conversation by the laughter she heard. Honoka and Anju continued past them, and entered the next room down the hall. There were no windows, so the room was dark when they first walked in. Honoka flipped the light switch on, surprising Anju a bit with what she saw.

Despite this room being one of the biggest rooms in the house, it felt incredibly small because of the amount of clothes inside. There were a few clothes racks spread around, completely filled with costumes on hangers. There were long tables along each of the walls, filled with more costumes stacked on top of each other. There was a big mirror standing near the back wall, meant for three to use at a time, which had a few costumes pieces hanging on it as well.

"This is..." Anju started to say.

"Our costume storage room," Honoka finished.

"Did Nico and Kotori really work on all of these?"

"Yup. They designed and hand-made everything in here."

Anju began walking around the room, browsing through the costumes. She stopped in front of one of the tables. She picked up a familiar, red and white top from the pile.

"Aren't these the costumes from your first live?" she asked.

"Yup," Honoka answered. "The original ones."

"And you kept them all this time?"

"Of course. Even though they're small and not used anymore, they still hold a lot of memories."

"I see... Memories..."

Honoka walked up beside Anju. "Don't worry, we can make a lot of new memories together," she said cheerfully. "Starting right now."

"Eh?"

"Look here."

Anju walked over to the table Honoka was pointing at. On the table were more costumes. At first Anju didn't understand what she was looking at, but after a few moments she realized what it was.

"These aren't any of Muse's concert costumes, are they?"

"Nope, they're just for dress-up."

"Dress-up?" Anju repeated.

Honoka nodded. "Nico and Kotori don't always have to make new costumes for each concert."

"So they end up with a lot of free time?"

"Yup. They still want to make costumes though. I remembered that Nico used to make me outfits to wear during high school. So now I let them make costumes for me whenever they want."

"I see... That sounds nice."

"Eheh... Well, there isn't enough time, so I won't ask you to make a costume today. We'll just have some fun with these costumes instead!"

Anju was a little upset when Honoka said she couldn't make a costume today, but she had instantly cheered up at Honoka's idea. She didn't wait for Honoka to tell her to start looking through the costumes. Anju picked up a few right away, handing one to Honoka.

The first few Anju chose were some of the first that Nico and Kotori made. They were pretty typical costumes. Honoka started with a cat costume, then a maid outfit, then an angel. She did a few poses for each and let Anju take a few pictures with her phone.

After a few more costumes, Honoka decided to surprise Anju with yet another idea. As Anju was reaching for another costume, Honoka picked one up herself and showed it to Anju.

"Ah, I think that'd look great you," Anju said.

"Maybe, but I think it would look even better on you," Honoka said.

"Me?"

"Yup! Come on, you're trying this on."

"B-but. Wait, Honoka-"

Honoka didn't let Anju finish. She took Anju by the hand and brought her behind the mirror. Then Honoka pushed what she was holding into Anju's hands, and left her behind the mirror to give her some privacy. Anju had wanted to protest, but everything happened too quickly for her to react. She sighed to herself as she started changing.

The outfit wasn't really a costume. It was really just an elegant dress. It was mostly white, with red patterns along the sides and on the top of the gloves. Honoka had also given Anju a tiara to put on, which she did. Anju looked at herself in the mirror. There was something about the dress that was bugging Anju. She stared into the mirror for a few more minutes, but still couldn't figure out what it was.

Giving up on trying to figure it out, Anju stepped out from behind the mirror. She had started thinking of what Honoka might think of her look, but instantly those thoughts disappeared from her mind. Honoka was standing near the center of the room. Instead of the house clothes she was wearing minutes ago, she was now wearing a white dress similar to the one Anju was wearing, but with orange instead of red.

"W-wow..." was all Anju could say.

"Eheh, I was right," Honoka said. "That wedding dress suites you nicely."

"Thanks... Eh? Did you just say... wedding dress?"

"Yup! Though, Nico and Kotori didn't want to make a full wedding dress. So they designed these." Honoka spun around once for no real reason. "Of course, they only made mine at first. Then the others found out, and they ended up making one for everyone."

Anju looked down at hers. "So then this is..."

"Maki-chan's."

"I see..."

_The diamond princess of Muse_, Anju thought. _Well, people told me I was like a princess when I was younger._

"Hehe, yeah. Now..." Honoka held out her hand. "How about a dance?"

Anju couldn't believe what Honoka just asked. She couldn't find her words, and only managed to nod and hold her hand out for Honoka to take. Honoka did so, and starting leading their little dance. Anju felt like she was in a dream. Here she was, dancing with Honoka in beautiful dresses. And to top it all off, she felt soft, sweet lips press against her cheeks.

The dance itself lasted a few minutes, but it would be something Anju would remember for a long time after. Especially when the moment was interrupted by the door being thrown open, followed by a pair of gasps.

"H-Honoka-chan?" Kotori stuttered.

"W-what are you two doing?" Nico asked in a loud voice.

Almost immediately, Honoka had stopped and walked up to the two Muse. Anju could tell Honoka was trying to calm them down right away. Though, she wasn't really paying much attention. Anju was lost in her own thoughts right now.

_Someday, we won't just be pretending_. Anju thought, her determination growing.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD he- *collapses***

**Honoka: **Eh? Hey, wake up.

***zzz***

**Honoka: **Hey! *tries shaking awake*

**Kotori: **Honoka-chan... I think you should let him rest.

**Honoka: **Fine... Sorry everyone! Looks like no author notes this time.

**Umi: **Here *hands Honoka a piece of paper*

**Honoka: **Eh? What's this?

**Umi: **Just say it to the readers.

**Honoka: **Okay! Let's see...

"Thank you for reading, everyone. The author was busy with tests and an essay, so this chapter took longer to finish than he wanted to."

Eh? He had tests?

**Umi: **Just keep reading.

**Honoka: ***pouts* "As always, leave any feedback you may want him to read in the reviews. Thank you very much and see you again soon."

**Kotori: **Aww, Umi-chan had a back-up ready.

**Umi: **He told me to, in case something like this happened.

**Honoka: ***putting the paper down* Well we're done with that now. Let's go eat some of the ice cream in the freezer! *dashes out of the room*

**Umi: **Wait, don't eat too much! *runs after her*

**Kotori:** Ice cream? But isn't that for the author? *shrugs, then follows the other two*

**(I got lazy to write real notes, sorry X3 Anju's job is helping Kotori and Nico with theirs. So, this chapter. That's basically it X3 See you next time~)**


	8. Morning Kisses

**Nexus Infinity: No no. No getting shot for selfish reasons around here. *pats***

**Satsuki Rin: Nope Honoka isn't, or at least I'm not trying to make her that mean. Honoka had moments of leading and being led in the last story. So similar things will happen with the new suitors. All in good fun, of course. And I don't have a pic of exactly what I described. BUT, I will put the pic I used into my Dropbox, just for reference. It's similar to what they're wearing, but just imagine a bit longer and lightly colored along the sides. (hmm... that seems kind of weird for design when I look at it again... lol X3)**

**furrballnerd: Yeah, you don't see much of A-Rise, official work or not. But that's the fun part, because now they're more open to different personalities. Like with Anju, I see her as the most playful of the three. Well... it's a silly story, and I suppose Honoka asking them not to fight is good enough? X3 And thanks for catching that mistake! I corrected it the following morning so it should be fine now.**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Understandably, Nico and Kotori's surprised yells had alerted most of the others in the house. Rin, Hanayo, and Yukiho were the only ones that didn't hear from downstairs. Everyone else had rushed to the costume storage room. Honoka just finished calming down Nico and Kotori when the others arrived. Anju snapped out of her thoughts in time to duck behind the mirror and change out of Maki's dress before anyone else had seen her.

Honoka explained most of what had happened to the others, leaving out the detail about the dress. Luckily for Her and Anju, neither Nico nor Kotori mentioned it either. Once Honoka had reassured the others that nothing serious had happened, everyone went back to their work from before. Honoka and Anju were joined by Nozomi and Arisa in the living room. They spent the rest of the time relaxing until rehearsal later in the day.

This morning was more normal compared to the last few days. Honoka woke up to the feeling of extra heat around her body. Even without looking, she already knew who it was embracing her from behind. Honoka turned around in the other girl's so that they now lay facing each other. Honoka's eyes were still closed, so it surprised the other girl. She let her guard down for just enough time for Honoka to slip in a kiss.

"Good morning, Nozomi-chan," Honoka said, smiling.

"Good morning, Honoka," Nozomi answered, smiling back. "

"You're in a really good mood this morning."

"Well of course. I just got a morning kiss from a lovely young lady, after all."

"Really? Then, she must be pretty special to you."

"She is. In fact, I want to give her another kiss."

Once again their lips met, this time with Nozomi initiating it. It lasted a couple of seconds before they parted.

"Eh? Why did you kiss me then?" Honoka asked playfully.

Their lips met again.

"I think you already know why," Nozomi answered, matching the playful tone.

Honoka kissed Nozomi.

"Hmm... I think you should explain it to me, just in case."

Nozomi smiled. "I'd be glad to."

Their lips met once more, though this time lasting much longer than the last few. Nozomi caressed Honoka as the kissing went back and forth. They continued their little game for a few minutes.

"Okay, I think I'm starting to understand now."

"That's good."

"How about one more, just to be safe?" Honoka winked.

"Sure." Nozomi gave another quick kiss.

The room had been pretty silent for the last few minutes, aside for them. Suddenly they heard a low groan. Honoka flinched slightly, and both she and Nozomi held each other a little tighter. After a moment, they saw Yukiho pop up at the side of the bed.

"Do you really wake Onee-chan up like that every time, Nozomi?" she asked, rubbing her eye.

"Not _all_ the time," Nozomi answered, smiling. "Just, most of the time."

Yukiho sighed. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"Well... just the other morning-" Honoka started to say.

"Don't!" Yukiho interrupted.

Honoka smiled. "You're the one that asked."

Nozomi and Honoka decided they teased Yukiho enough for the morning. They left the younger Kousaka in the room and made their way downstairs. Honoka sat at the table while Nozomi went into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Despite their little fun earlier, Honoka was still a bit sleepy. She put her head down on the table to rest a little while she waited for Nozomi. She wasn't exactly sure how much time passed, but she felt arms wrap around her. Honoka would have jumped slightly had she been more awake, but instead she just turned slightly while still resting her head on the table.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Eli greeted her.

"Good morning, Eli-chan," Honoka greeted, managing a smile.

"Did Nozomi wake you up earlier than she needed to again?"

"No, she didn't. The way she wakes me up can be tiring, though."

"Oh? But weren't you the one who started it this time?" came Nozomi's voice. She came out of the kitchen with a tray of three mugs.

"Well... I guess that's true."

Nozomi smiled as she put a mug down by Honoka. "Here you go. And one for you," she said as she handed a second mug to Eli.

"Thanks, Nozomi," Eli said, taking the mug. "Now, exactly what are you two doing in the morning when Nozomi wakes you up?"

"All kinds of fun things."

"Not _those_ kind of things, right?"

"Who knows..." Nozomi grinned.

Eli raised an eyebrow at Nozomi, then turned to give a questioning look to Honoka. Honoka was sitting up again, and she shook her head.

"No, none of _that_," she answered.

Eli sighed. "Same old Nozomi," she said before taking a sip from her mug.

Honoka just smiled before taking a sip from her own mug. The warm liquid filled her mouth, finally shaking off the last of her sleepy feelings. She smiled and sighed in satisfaction, causing the two older women by her side to smile as well.

"Honoka, do you have time to look through the requests today?" Eli asked.

Honoka nodded. "Did you finish sorting though all of them?"

"Erena and I finished going through most of them yesterday. I have a few more to go through this morning."

"Okay, then I'll go with you. That way we can finish sooner."

"Sounds like a great idea."

"Hehe, well you two have fun with that," Nozomi said. "I'll stop by in a bit with breakfast when it's ready."

"Thanks Nozomi," Eli said. Then to Honoka she asked, "Shall we go?"

Honoka nodded, picking up her mug as she stood up. Together with Eli, they walked down the hall toward one of their "office" rooms. As they walked through the hall they heard an increasing amount of noise coming from upstairs, signaling that the rest of the house was starting to wake up.

They got straight to work once they were inside the room. Eli gave Honoka the stack of papers that were ready for her to review. Most of the requests were events for the coming year. Two concert requests from the company they worked with earlier in the summer, some TV appearances, guest speaking on a radio station after New Years, and other promotional events.

One of Eli's responsibilities in Muse was the promotional planning. She reads through these requests and more each month, sorting through what she thinks Muse should and shouldn't do. With the ones she approves of, she writes a summary and any important details on a sticky-note. Honoka's role here was to sign them, giving Muse's official approval. She also took the sticky note to Umi to help with scheduling the events.

Honoka had only finished a few papers when Nozomi came into the room with a tray of food. As Nozomi placed a plate down for Honoka, she snuck in a little kiss on the ginger's cheek. Eli actually caught the action, but chose not to say anything. She thanked Nozomi when her long time best friend put her breakfast down as well.

They both alternated between their work and the food. Honoka was a little more balanced between the two compared to Eli, who was mostly focused on her work. Though Eli had a reason for it.

"I'm done here," Eli announced.

"Hehe, good job," Honoka said, smiling.

Eli sat back in her chair, letting herself relax a bit. Then she turned her attention to the plate of food in front of her. Though, it wasn't because she was very hungry. She picked up her plate and sat down beside Honoka. Honoka noticed, and looked up curiously.

"Hmm? What is it Eli-chan?" Honoka asked.

"Well, I'm going to feed you your breakfast."

"Eh?"

"I'll feed you so that you can focus more on your work and finish sooner. Is that okay?"

Honoka nodded, then smiled. "Thanks Eli-chan. That'd be very helpful."

She went back to reading the requests in front of her. Eli picked up her chopsticks and fed Honoka the first bite. Eli went between feeding Honoka and eating breakfast herself. She fed both of them from her plate first, and then Honoka's once her plate was done.

Honoka took her time, reading through Eli's notes before signing wherever she needed to on the paper. She knew that she didn't need to be reading the notes, as they were Umi to look at later. But she also knew that Eli was enjoying this moment right now. It was Eli's chance to be alone with her, and Honoka did what she could to make it last for Eli. Although Eli herself wasn't too worried about it.

Once their breakfast was done, Eli got up to bring the dishes back to the kitchen. Similar to Nozomi, she gave Honoka a kiss on the cheek on her way out. Once Eli had left the room, Honoka sped up with her work. She stopped reading the notes carefully and just went through signing each of the pages. It was what she normally did, except for this morning which was a special case.

"So how's it going?" Eli asked as she re-entered the room.

"I just finished," Honoka announced with a smile.

"Heh, good job."

"Thanks Eli-chan."

"Now for your reward."

Honoka wasn't surprised by Eli saying that, especially after seeing the grin on the older woman's face. She got up from her chair and leaned against the table as Eli made her way over. Once Eli was close enough, Honoka wrapped her arms around Eli's waist and pulled her close. Their lips met soon enough, and they kept each other busy for the rest of the morning.

* * *

**Hi guys, nobodD here!**

**Okay first off...**

**Don't worry guys, I'm fine! The last week leading up to my last chapter was pretty tiring, but I haven't collapsed from exhaustion or anything. Well okay, I fell asleep at my keyboard once, but that was it! I will make sure to take care of myself though. Thanks for your concerns 3 Now you see why I try not to disappoint you all though ;)**

**Now then...**

**Well nothing too special about this chapter. I wanted to reference Nozomi and Eli's chapters from the last story, but couldn't really think of a way to do that. So, we end up with fluff xp**

**Keeping this short and sweet, because I have tests to "study" for ;) Hope to see you at my next update~**


	9. Company

**furrballnerd: I agree, fluff can be good :3 Yeah sorry, none of those things. Trying to keep it clean in this particular story, for the most part... X3 I didn't think I was hinting at something, but maybe I did on accident? Haha X3 wanna point it out to me?**

**Major Mike Powell III: Well, for this story I wanted to just focus on it being Honoka's harem. Though that idea would make a great idea as its own story, which I may try in the future X3 But I don't think I can do that for this story. Sorry =\**

**Satsuki Rin: I know how it feels to have life catch up X3 And no problem. That pic is definitely a keeper ;) Yeah, I was trying to keep this like the prequel, having most of everyone get their own chapter. This chapter was originally just going to be Eli's but then Nozomi's scene took a shape of its own, and I thought it worked nicely. X3**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

* * *

Aside from her flirt-filled morning, Honoka thought today would be another day to relax. However as noon passed, she found that wasn't the case. She walked to the front door, dressed in her winter coat, followed by her bluenette best friend.

"Sorry to ask this so suddenly on your day off," Umi said.

"That's alright," Honoka said as she put her shoes on. "I was kind of wanting to get out of the house anyway."

"Are you sure you're fine with this?"

Honoka stood up after she finished with her shoes. She wrapped her arms around Umi, bringing the bluenette in close for a kiss.

"Don't worry, we won't be gone long," Honoka said with a smile.

Umi smiled as well, but Honoka could tell from the look on the bluenette's face that something was still bothering her. Although she already knew what it was that bothered her. _Well, who it is,_ Honoka corrected herself. And as if on cue, the girl in question appeared in the hallway from the living room.

"Ready?" Tsubasa asked as she walked up to Honoka and Umi.

"Yup, ready," Honoka replied cheerfully.

"Are you sure you don't want to take her?" Tsubasa asked Umi. "I mean, I could handle the-"

Umi shook her head before Tsubasa finished. "It's alright. I'll handle the paperwork this time. It's not that much, anyway."

"Yeah, but if I'm going to be helping with it later on, I should get used to it now right?"

"Yes but that's not the only part of the job." She gestured to Honoka. "You should get to know the person you're working for as well."

"That's true. Well as long as you say so." Tsubasa turned to Honoka. "Let's go?"

Honoka nodded. Tsubasa walked through the front door first. Before anything else, she went up to Umi and gave her one last kiss.

"That's a reward for handling this so well," she said before following Tsubasa out the front door.

Umi smiled as she watched Honoka leave. _If only you understood exactly how hard it is to give you up like that even for a short time_, she thought.

She didn't allow herself time to think about it though. She turned as she heard a pair of voices in the hallway. She smiled to Nozomi and Arisa as she walked by them on her way to one of the work rooms.

* * *

While preparing lunch for everyone, Nico and Anju noticed that they were missing some ingredients that they were going to need for dinner. They had told Umi, giving her a list of the ingredients that were missing. Umi didn't say it at that moment, but she was too busy with her own work to run out for groceries.

Umi was reluctant to ask Honoka when she had planned to have the ginger get the next few days to rest. She was left with no other option, as most of the others in the house were also busy with work, and asked Honoka to get the groceries in the end.

Of course Honoka was going to need help with all the groceries, which is why Tsubasa volunteered to drive. It also helped give her a break from the amount of work Umi was giving her, as well as get a little edge as far as the "competition" goes.

"So, how are you adjusting to things, Tsubasa?" Honoka asked in the car.

"Fine so far," Tsubasa answered. "I think I've handled things well."

"That's good to hear. How do you like it being with us after a few days?"

"Everything is well organized and efficient, and everyone's always having fun while doing their work. It's what I was expecting with you as the leader."

"Hehe, I see. And, how do you like living with us?"

"It's been fine so far. Everyone gets along really well. Although sometimes things are slow."

"Oh? Were you expecting me to be kissing with the other Muse every day?"

"W-wha- No, not that." Tsubasa's face was starting to heat up.

"No? Then maybe you imagined that it was Anju or Erena?"

"That's not it either."

"Did you want to ki-"

"Honoka!"

Honoka glanced over to Tsubasa, and saw that her face was really red now. Honoka smiled to herself. She found it amusing and cute of Tsubasa to be flustered with talking about kissing at this age.

_I guess nothing really happened within A-Rise_, Honoka thought to herself. _Well, I should stop teasing her like this._

"Sorry, Tsubasa," she apologized.

"Ah- No, you don't have to apologize." Tsubasa managed to recover herself. "You were just joking, right?"

"Yeah... Though I shouldn't have taken it that far."

"It's okay. I understand."

For the rest of the drive, they had a more normal conversation. Tsubasa mentioned something about A-Rise while answering one of Honoka's questions, which confirmed Honoka's earlier suspicions that A-Rise never got into relationships even with each other. Honoka had a feeling with the way Anju had acted yesterday, and again with Tsubasa's reactions during the car ride. Now it made sense to her.

Soon enough they reached the grocery store. Tsubasa had expected this to be a normal shopping trip. She heard Honoka reassuring Umi that they wouldn't take long. Though Honoka now had other plans about that.

At first everything was normal. They went down the list that Umi had given them, grabbing each item and placing it in one of the baskets they were carrying. As they were walking from aisle to aisle, Honoka would move herself a little closer to Tsubasa.

Tsubasa didn't notice at first. By the time she did, Honoka was so close she was practically on her arm. Tsubasa was conflicted. A situation like this was something she's been curious about ever since she took interest in Honoka. Yet now that she was in it, she's was extremely nervous and unsure what to do.

"Tsubasa? Are you okay?" Honoka asked as innocently as she could sound.

"Wha-? Oh... Yeah... I'm okay," Tsubasa managed to reply.

"You don't sound okay though..."

"I-I was just think about something, that's all."

"Oh, okay." Honoka looked at the list again. "Well, I think we got everything Nico-chan and Anju-chan need. Shall we go?"

"Yeah.."

Tsubasa and Honoka went up to the front so they could pay for everything. Honoka could tell Tsubasa was feeling uncomfortable again by how quiet she was as they got back into the car.

_Probably because of my teasing_, Honoka thought. _I should try and fix this._

Luckily for Honoka, she found an opportunity to do so.

"Hey, Tsubasa?" Honoka asked. "Can we stop by somewhere before we go home?"

"Sure. Where did you want to go?"

"Turn over there."

Tsubasa listened to Honoka's directions as they continued along. It was a few more streets before Honoka said they were nearby where she wanted to go, so Tsubasa pulled over and parked the car. As she got out of the car, Tsubasa looked around.

"I've never been to this part of the city before..." Tsubasa said.

"That's not surprising," Honoka said simply. "Not many people know about the places here."

"Really?"

"Yup. Anyway..." Honoka took hold of Tsubasa's arm.

"H-hey wait. What are you doing?"

"You haven't been in this area before. So this is to make sure you don't get lost," Honoka answered with a smile.

"Well, yeah, but-"

Honoka pulled on Tsubasa's arm. "Come on, let's go!"

Tsubasa didn't get to say much else as Honoka pulled her along. Though they didn't have to walk far, as the place Honoka wanted to go was just at the end of the street. Tsubasa looked up as they approached the entrance to one of the buildings. There wasn't a sign, but she could tell that it was a small business.

As they got inside, Tsubasa found she was right. There were some tables set up, a handful of people sitting alone or with one person at each of them. It was a bigger space than Tsubasa thought looking from the outside.

One of the workers noticed them enter and greeted them. Though, she noticed that there was a strange reaction when the worker saw Honoka. She disappeared somewhere, leaving Tsubasa and Honoka waiting at the front. A few minutes later and the worker reappeared. She asked for them to follow her, which they did, into a smaller room. There were only two tables in here, and they took a seat at one of them.

"She'll be with you shortly," the worker announced before leaving the room.

Honoka gave a smile and wave as the worker left. Then she started looking around.

"So, I'm guessing you've been here a lot before?" Tsubasa asked.

"Yup. Although, the last time was in the summer. Not much seems to have changed. She still has the same things in here."

"Well excuse me for not being a very successful idol," came a new voice.

Tsubasa was sitting in the seat facing away from the door, so she had to turn around to see the newcomer. There was some sort of familiarity she felt when she looked at the other girl. Of course Honoka recognized the girl right away, and was on her feet to hug her friend.

"Mika-chan!"

"Ah- hey, Honoka." Mika took a step back to keep her balance. "As energetic as ever, I see."

"Mika... Oh," Tsubasa said, finally understanding the connection. "You were one of Muse's supporters at Otonokizaka."

At the mention of their old school, Mika looked over Honoka's shoulder. "Oh my... Kira Tsubasa? What a pleasant surprise."

"We were doing some grocery shopping, and I thought it would be nice to stop by like before," Honoka explained.

"Ah, I see." She looked to Tsubasa. "So does that mean you're part of Honoka's collection of lovers now?"

"E-eh? N-no! I'm just working for Muse now," Tsubasa replied quickly.

"Easy on the teasing. A-Rise lost their jobs and they came to us for work," Honoka said.

"Oh... I'm sorry, I didn't know," Mika said to Tsubasa.

"That's alright... It was kept pretty quiet by the company," Tsubasa said, calming down.

"I see... Well, can I get you two anything?"

"Just the usual for everyone," Honoka said. "Oh, and a couple extra."

"Got it. I'll be back in a few." With that, Mika took her leave.

"I'll be honest... I wasn't expecting this at all," Tsubasa said.

"Eheh, it's a family business," Honoka replied.

"Ah. Why are we in this room, though?"

"Because things can get complicated if too many people recognize us. And I don't just mean because we're idols."

Tsubasa was about to ask what Honoka meant, but the realized she meant Muse's relationship situation.

"I see. That's really nice of her."

"Yup. Now, since we have some time before she's done..."

Honoka walked to one part of the room, pulling open the door to the mini-freezer. She rummaged inside for a few seconds until she pulled out a plate with a few slices of cake on it. Then rather than sitting back down in her own seat, Honoka sat down next to Tsubasa.

"Uhm... Honoka?"

"Let's have a mini-date."

"...What? Wouldn't that be-"

"It's not like we're really on a date. We'll just feed each other."

"... Sometimes I just don't get you Honoka."

Honoka smiled, then picked the fork up and picked off a piece of cake. She held it up to Tsubasa, who took the bite despite a half-hearted protest. Then Honoka gave the fork to Tsubasa so she could feed her. Again, Tsubasa made a comment but still fed Honoka like she was asked to do.

This continued for a few minutes. Honoka eventually got Tsubasa to stop her tsundere protests by starting a conversation about food. Gradually, Tsubasa eased into the situation, and Honoka saw that she was genuinely enjoying the pretend date situation, which relieved Honoka on the inside.

Tsubasa wondered at first why Honoka had gotten a small piece of cake if she was planning on them sharing it. Though right as they finished and cleaned everything up, Mika had returned. Tsubasa realized then how careful Honoka had been so they wouldn't be caught. Whether or not it was for her sake, Tsubasa was still glad for it. Although, she was just a little bit upset that the moment didn't last longer.

Mika handed Honoka a plastic bag with a box of sweets inside. After a hug goodbye, they both left the little shop and returned to Tsubasa's car and were on their way home.

* * *

**Hey guys, nobodD here!**

**Alright, so apology first. I had originally wanted to update on Thursday, as it was after a few days of tests. But I had gotten so stuck on this chapter, which is why it's a few days late.**

**I do have a small announcement, which is that I will be working on some side-things this week, one of which is a oneshot. Hopefully you'll see those within the next week or so, and then the next chapter for this after that. Those who know what Tuesday is, you'll probably be able to guess what the oneshot will be about X3**

**Anyway, as I mentioned, I was really stuck on ideas for this chapter. I started out okay, but halfway through just hit a big block. Finally I managed to get something to work though. I hope you guys like it, because I don't know if it works for you guys X3**

**Let me know your thoughts in reviews, and I'll see you next time~**


	10. Another Date

**Major Mike Powell III: Haha yes she was a tsun. Gotta take different angels, especially after "True Feelings." X3 And yup, lucky Honoka.**

**furrballnerd: Oh that! Oh with that I just meant because of the "competition," though Rin and Hanayo didn't want to say it and didn't know that Honoka knew about it already. That was all Xp**

**Satsuki Rin: I agree with you, their progress has been quite slow. Well the biggest obstacle would be Honoka herself. As you noticed, she has led the two A-Rise members who had chapters so far. Though Honoka hasn't really been led by anyone. Muse are able to "match" her at points because they're somewhat able to predict her. A-Rise just needs adjusting time X3**

***Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!**

**** Picture of outfits in my Dropbox.**

* * *

At the request of her fellow Muse, Honoka had followed the Muse into her room. She knew exactly why she was being called here as well, but figured she go along with it anyway.

"You took quite a long time getting back, Honoka-chan," Kotori said after Honoka had closed the door behind them.

"I know," Honoka responded. "But I brought some of your favorite sweets back!"

"That's true... But Honoka-chan, that's not why I'm upset with you right now."

Honoka sighed. "I know... It's because I was supposed to try on your new costumes before rehearsals today, right?"

Kotori nodded. "I was really looking forward to it... I had worked really hard on the costumes, too..."

"I'm sorry, Kotori-chan." Honoka walked up and hugged Kotori. "Here, how about I make it up to you?"

"Although I don't mind, you can't make things up with-"

"No not that," Honoka cut her off. "I meant, how about tomorrow will be just for the two of us?"

"Eh? You'll work with me all day tomorrow?"

Honoka shook her head. "Better. We can go out and spend the day together, away from home."

Kotori's eyes lit up. "Ah, really?!"

"Shh! Yes, really. We still have to be home before rehearsals, but before that we can do whatever you want."

"That sounds wonderful!" Kotori had a bright smile on her face.

Honoka was silently relieved. "Well, I did break a promise. So this is the least I can do to make it up to you."

"Well, I would have forgiven you even if you just apologized. It's rare for you to break promises even on accident, after all."

"I know, but I would have felt bad if I didn't try to do something as an apology."

"Well, this is just perfect."

Honoka smiled. "I'm glad you think so. We can start as early as you want tomorrow as well."

Kotori leaned in and kissed Honoka. "Thanks, Honoka-chan."

* * *

Honoka was expecting Kotori to want to go out as soon as possible after breakfast. She was sleeping comfortably in her bed, thinking she had some time before then. However she had forgotten one detail about her mornings, so it surprised her when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Honoka-chan," a voice whispered.

Honoka turned over. Even though the lights were still off, there was just enough light coming through the curtains for Honoka to see who it was.

"Kotori-chan?"

"Hehe, surprise. I'm here to wake you up."

"Eh? Was it your turn to wake me up?"

"Yup," Kotori whispered cheerfully.

"But, it's still early isn't it?"

"You said we could start as early as I wanted."

"Well, yeah I did. But this early?"

"I wanted to leave while everyone is still asleep. It would be a lot harder if they saw us leave."

"But, wouldn't it make everyone worry if they don't know where I went?"

"Ah... You're probably right..."

Honoka got up and sat on the edge of her bed. "That's alright. I'll just leave a note on the table before we leave."

"Eheh, that's a good idea."

"By the way, aren't you forgetting something, Kotori-chan?"

"Huh? Am I?"

Kotori started thinking, trying to remember if she did forget anything. Honoka smiled when she realized Kotori wasn't going to catch on in time. So she pulled Kotori close to her and lowered her head so their lips could meet. Kotori understand what Honoka meant once their kiss had ended.

"Good morning, Kotori-chan."

"Good morning, Honoka-chan."

"Well, I should get ready now if we're going to leave early."

Honoka got up and was about to walk to her dresser, but Kotori had grabbed her by the hand to stop her.

"Actually, there is something else I forgot," Kotori whispered.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Here, I'll show you."

Kotori led Honoka out of her room and they made their way downstairs. They took extra care not to make any sound and leave the lights off, so they lowered the risk of waking someone else up. They tiptoed through the dark downstairs hallway until they stopped where Kotori wanted them to be. She opened the door as quietly as possible and they moved inside the room. Honoka looked around as Kotori flipped the lights on.

"The costume storage room?" Honoka asked.

"Mhm." Kotori walked over to a pile of clothes on one of the tables, picking a few up and holding them for Honoka to see.

"Ah, Kotori-chan those are nice. Did you make them?"

Kotori shook her head. "No, I didn't. I saw them when I was out shopping a few days ago and I thought they'd look cute on you."

"Well, I'll try it on and we'll see."

Honoka took the clothes from Kotori and went behind one of the mirrors. She remembered that they were trying to leave the house before anyone else woke up, so she tried to change as quickly as possible without having an accident. Though once she was done, she still took a moment to look at herself in the mirror.

The outfit itself wasn't extravagant or anything. It was a white shirt with black horizontal stripes, a dark green shirt underneath, black shorts, and a red coat. Although Nico was the one who was more into fashion, Honoka had to admit that Kotori had a nice fashion sense herself.

After looking over herself one more time, Honoka stepped back out from behind the mirror. She was about to call out to Kotori, but stopped. Kotori was standing where she was when Honoka went to change, but she had also changed herself. She was wearing a plaid button-up shirt, with a gray coat and long skirt.

"Aww, Kotori-chan. That's just perfect on you," Honoka whispered as enthusiastically as possible.

"T-thanks. Anyway, let's go. We can eat out for breakfast."

Honoka nodded. "Right. Let me write a note really quick first."

They left the room and made their way to the kitchen. Kotori turned on the light so Honoka could find what she needed. Honoka wrote as short a note as possible, leaving it in the middle of the table. Putting the pen and notepad away, Kotori turned the kitchen light back off and they went out the front door.

They were greeted by the cold morning air as soon as they stepped outside. Kotori and Honoka held each other tightly for a little warmth as they walked over to the parking lot. They would be taking Honoka's car today, with only a little bit of protest from Kotori. With no particular place in mind, Kotori and Honoka went to a nearby diner.

"So, did you have something in mind that you wanted to do today?" Honoka asked as they ate breakfast.

"Yeah," Kotori answered. "Just a few things. If you want to, that is."

"Of course. Today is for you, after all."

"Hehe, alright."

As Honoka was about to take another bite, she noticed Kotori glance over at her food before looking down at her own. Honoka smiled, holding the fork out over the table to Kotori. Kotori happily accepted the food.

"What did you want to do first?"

"Well, it's still early, so how about we walk around the shopping district?"

"Okay, as long as we're _just_ walking around."

"Eh? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you sometimes buy things on impulse when you think it's cute."

"That's not true."

"Then what about these clothes?"

"...Oh, right. Sorry..."

"It's okay, Kotori-chan. We can still walk around and try things on. Just no buying."

Kotori smiled. "Hehe, alright."

They left as soon as they finished breakfast. The shopping district wasn't far from where they already were, so they had arrived within a few minutes. As they had agreed on during breakfast, they started walking in and out of the stores. In a couple of stores, there were things that had quickly caught Kotori's attention. If it were clothes, then Kotori or Honoka would try them on. If it were something like a stuffed animal, then Honoka would let Kotori hold onto it while they walked around the rest of the store.

"Hmm, I wonder what we should do for lunch..." Honoka said as they walked out another store.

"Eh? Is it almost time already?" Kotori asked.

"Yeah." Honoka showed Kotori her phone.

"You're right... it's almost one."

"Yeah. We should probably go home after we eat lunch."

"I guess you're right..." She was about to be upset, but then something caught her eye that distracted her. "Honoka-chan look."

Honoka looked in the direction where Kotori was pointing. It didn't take her long to figure out what Kotori was excited about.

"Crepe cart, huh?" Honoka smiled. "Would you like some?"

"Of course!"

"Hehe, alright then. Let's go."

They made their way across the street to the cart, and Honoka asked for two strawberry crepes.

"Here you go," she said, handing Kotori one of the crepes.

"Thanks, Honoka-chan. But why did you order two of the same flavor?"

"Eh? You couldn't tell?"

"No, not really."

"Well here." Honoka held out her crepe to Kotori "Ah~."

Kotori was still confused, but she accepted a bite of Honoka's crepe. She let the sweet tastes fill her mouth, smiling in satisfaction. Seeing Kotori happy made Honoka smile as well. Then she leaned over and stole a bite from Kotori's crepe.

"Eh? Wait Honoka-chan, why-" But then Kotori realized what happened.

"Hehe, since we didn't end up feeding each other like usual earlier, this will have to do."

"Ah, you're right. It wouldn't have been like our other dates if we didn't do something like this, huh?"

"Exactly. So, are you ready to go home now?"

Kotori sighed. "I guess so."

Honoka smiled again. They fed each other once more before walking back to Honoka's car.

* * *

**Hey everyone, nobodD here!**

**Sorry that this chapter took a while to get here. After this and the Eli b-day oneshot, I was super excited to start my AU story X3 Also I've been having a bit of writer's block again, so needed some time to think.**

**I remember someone asked for Kotori to have her own chapter. That changed my planning a bit because I had to think of a different idea for the chapter, but it worked out in the end. Short somewhat-fluff chapter but hope it's still fine.**

**Thanks so far and hope to see you again next chapter~**


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